Gauguin
by MysticalGoddessOfWords
Summary: Walter O'Brien isn't the kind of man to make grand romantic gestures. So just what is he up to anyway?
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I don't own anything Scorpion. I'm just borrowing the characters and playing with them for a while.

This story takes place approximately 5 years after episode 02x13. I was originally going to post this entire story as a one-shot - but it just got too long so it will now be 2 or maybe 3 chapters.

As with all my stories, this one carries a Mature rating so you have been duly warned. If that's not your thing – you should probably stop now.

For those of you who don't mind that…..Enjoy!

Thanks in advance for reading and reviewing.

* * *

 ** _Gauguin_**

Walter shifted carefully as he attempted to maneuver himself from beneath the naked woman sprawled across his chest. She had fallen asleep six minutes and thirty one seconds earlier, exhausted and sated from their activities of the past couple of hours.

He always held Paige, after sex, until she drifted to sleep. It wasn't something she asked for or expected of him but something he felt the need to do. Not because he felt obligated. Obligation wasn't something Walter O'Brien let influence him.

He _wanted_ to hold her.

He _enjoyed_ holding her.

More than he ever would have imagined before she came into his life.

Holding a woman after sex was not something he had _ever_ done before Paige. Before her, sexual intercourse was just a physical release for him. Nothing more. He engaged in it only occasionally when his body's need for that release became a necessity.

He only had two previous relationships with women and neither of those lasted more than a couple of months. His inability to connect emotionally doomed any kind of relationship he attempted. But all of that changed when Paige entered his life. Although it had taken almost 2 years of Paige and Ralph's presence in his life, and his sister's untimely death, before Walter was willing to admit and accept he was capable of emotion.

Before and between his failed relationships, Walter sought sexual release through escorts – although it was very rare. His mind was normally too occupied with intellectual pursuits that the physical needs of his body were always secondary and most often not even on his radar. He would go months without even the thought of sexual release crossing his mind.

Now Walter was lucky if he could go several days. That was the kind of affect Paige Dineen had on him. The _old_ Walter would find his unrelenting desire for her disturbing and a distraction. But in the over six years that he'd known her, and the over 4 years since he decided not to fight his nature and admit his feelings for her, Walter O'Brien had come to learn one very important fact about himself.

He was capable of extremely intense emotion, particularly for the woman in his arms. Before her, Walter didn't believe love existed. It was nothing more than junk science, a semi-euphoric, temporary, chemical reaction to the physical attraction individuals had for each other.

But now, Walter _knew_ love was real. It still confused the hell out of him much of the time but it was real and intense and something he never wanted to live without again. And it was all because of Paige and her son, Ralph.

In the time since he and Paige had started engaging in sexual intercourse, Walter had memorized every inch of the woman in his arms. From the curve of her smile to the curve of her hips; from the way she walked and talked and laughed, to the light dusting of freckles that dotted her skin, particularly on her chest and just below her naval; from the way she moaned and her skin flushed when he touched her, just the right way, to the small combination of a sigh and whimper that she made, in the back of her throat, just as her body and mind were surrendering to sleep.

Walter smiled as his fingers gently caressed the silky skin of Paige's back as it rose and fell with her soft breathing. She always fell asleep within minutes of her last orgasm. It was like her body shut down, whether from exhaustion or just satiation, she was almost incapable of remaining awake more than a few minutes.

Walter teased her, once, that the way she practically passed out after sex, it was like she was the guy in their relationship. After all, guys were notorious for just rolling over and falling asleep as soon as they came. But when Walter teased her about it she just snorted delicately and then rolled on top of him, before sitting astride his hips, and once again proving to him that there was nothing about her that wasn't _all woman_.

As a man with an eidetic memory, Walter could still see her in his mind, as clearly as the night it happened, and whenever he let his brain wander back to that memory his body reacted the same way. Even though he'd come less than fifteen minutes earlier, Walter felt the familiar tingling starting again, and he knew if he didn't get out of that bed right then, he would roll Paige onto her back and wake, and then take, her again.

As if sensing he was pulling away, Paige's body shifted and she pressed her face into his neck, her soft lips brushing against his skin making him shudder. But he used her shifting to successfully extricate himself from her and he swung his legs over the side of the bed. Both of their clothes were haphazardly littering the bedroom floor and Walter looked for his boxer briefs, in the moonlight streaming through the windows, to no avail.

With one last look at Paige, Walter stood and tugged the sheet up over her body, letting his fingertips brush softly along the length of her back. She moaned softly in her sleep and Walter smiled before he walked over to his dresser. He grabbed a pair of pajama pants and a white t-shirt out of his drawers and slipped them on before exiting the bedroom quietly.

##############

"What are you doing up, buddy?"

Walter walked into the kitchen area on the lower level of the garage to find Ralph sitting at the round table, a bowl of cereal and his laptop in front of him.

Although Paige still kept her apartment, she and Ralph spent most nights of the week at the garage. Several months after he and Paige started dating, particularly once he and Paige started having sex, Walter had his bedroom area enclosed and a second bedroom for Ralph built in the loft.

Two years ago, Walter invited Paige and Ralph to move into the garage with him. It was a huge step for Walter and one he analyzed for almost a year before he even broached the topic with her. But Paige turned him down. She felt it would be better for her and Ralph to maintain their separate space. Initially Walter was hurt by her refusal, not understanding why she would want to continue paying for an apartment when she and Ralph spent more time at the garage than at her place. It was inefficient and a waste of money.

But Paige explained that, as much as she loved him and was committed to him, and as much as both she and Ralph loved having the rest of the cyclone in their lives, they could just be a little much sometimes. They were always at the garage and, while Walter didn't mind them invading his space at any given hour, Paige needed to be able to take a step back and have her private breathing space that wasn't invaded by work or the chaos that a group of geniuses could inadvertently cause.

And as Ralph had grown and slowly come out of his shell, he emulated his mother more and more. He, too, needed his space from the team, at times, and as difficult as it was for Walter to understand he was forced to accept it.

He had been slowly transitioning the team to respect the boundaries of his private living area. For the last several months he had what was once the loft, above the garage, enclosed into a completely independent apartment, even with its own exterior entry, hoping Paige would change her mind once she saw that he was providing her with the privacy she needed. They hadn't discussed her and Ralph moving in, again, but he hoped she would see that making her and Ralph happy and comfortable was of the utmost importance to him.

Walter walked over to the counter as the fifteen year old looked up at him before slamming his laptop closed.

"Nothing," Ralph answered Walter's question in a clipped tone before he dragged his bowl back in front of him and shoved a spoonful of cereal in his mouth.

Walter pursed his lips as he pet Ferret Bueller, who was lounging on the counter, before pouring himself a bowl of cereal and walking over to the table.

"So when did you upload your game to the beta test site?" Walter asked, knowingly, as he sat down across from the young genius.

Like Walter, Ralph was hard wired to only state facts so it was no surprise when Ralph's eyes widened before he cringed slightly and admitted honestly.

"Last Saturday."

"I thought we agreed I would review it before you uploaded it," Walter reminded as he tapped one finger on the top of the laptop.

"You and mom were out on your monthly date night and it was ready. I wanted to get it up."

Their lives were so busy most of the time with cases from Homeland as well as Walter's continued software developments that a few years back Paige insisted that they have monthly date nights to ensure they at least had one night for just the two of them to catch up and reconnect.

Walter found the notion silly because they worked together every day and slept in each other's arms almost every night. But Paige told him it wasn't the same because Walter oftentimes came to bed hours after Paige had long fallen asleep. On the nights they climbed into bed at the same time it was because they were going to engage in sexual intercourse and very quickly thoughts of talk were replaced with more pleasurable activities. And then Paige would be asleep long before either one of them were coherent again.

"I don't think your mom would consider that an acceptable excuse," Walter replied in a serious tone. "She only agreed to let you design that racing game, for the coding experience, _if_ we both adhered to her rules of supervision."

"But it was ready to test. It was only logical to get it uploaded as soon as possible to ensure maximum feedback. To delay would have been inefficient. I've already gotten valuable feedback in just two days."

Walter smirked because the young genius used the exact same reasoning he would have used at Ralph's age. But then his brow furrowed as he remembered the woman sleeping above them.

"I gave your mom my word that you wouldn't visit that site again without my supervision."

"Walter, you made that promise five years ago."

"There are no time limits on promises," Walter replied plainly.

Ralph rolled his eyes and Walter pursed his lips again. Ralph was getting to that difficult age when he was rebelling against all authority and Walter remembered what it was like to be fifteen. He also remembered how much he had rebelled at that age and it made him cringe slightly. If Ralph was anything like Walter, and the young genius was very much like him, he and Paige were in for some challenging times ahead.

"I'm not a kid anymore, Walter. I shouldn't have to be supervised like this. That Overt Target thing was over five years ago. She's just being overprotective."

While Walter agreed with the young genius, his mother did not. And Walter knew better than to go against his girlfriend when it came to this.

"Ralph, I respect your desire for and understand your impatience in wanting feedback for your work but going behind your mom and my back on this is not the way to get her to loosen the reigns. It's only going to upset her. How, exactly, do you expect her to agree to let us continue with the project knowing you didn't follow her rules about it?"

Walter used the word "us" because he felt as invested in Ralph's success with coding his own game. It was what would hopefully be the beginning of Walter's next stage of mentoring the young genius.

Ralph was thoughtful for a moment but, then, rather than answer Walter he sighed and segued to a new topic. "So, did you talk her into it?"

Walter gave Ralph a long look but then let his question drop for the moment as he smirked. "Of course. Did you have any doubt?"

Ralph grinned. "No. Mom is very predictable that way."

Walter laughed. "One word I would _never_ use to describe your mother would be predictable. Normals are most unpredictable."

"But she's a normal surrounded by geniuses," Ralph pointed out as he stood up and carried his bowl to the sink.

"Exactly," Walter agreed as he finished the last of his cereal and pushed his bowl to the other side of the table. "She's probably the only person on the planet who could handle this much genius in one place. And that's why she may be the most unpredictable woman I've ever known."

Ralph snorted out a short laugh as he picked up Ferret Bueller and started petting him, much to the ferret's delight. "I can see your point. Do you think she suspects anything?"

Walter shook his head. "Not at this point, no. But that's not to say she won't figure it out. Your mom has just enough intelligence to be _unpredictable_ ," Walter stressed drolly and Ralph chuckled, knowing Walter's words were a compliment. "Are you sure your dad won't say anything to her."

Ralph, in turn, shook his head. "He won't. I just told him we had a surprise for her and to please not say anything. He's so wrapped up in his new girlfriend these days my mom isn't even on his radar anymore."

For that Walter was infinitely grateful. Drew had tried more than once over the years to convince Paige to give him another chance. He even had the gall to pursue her after he knew she and Walter were together.

So, needless to say, Walter despised the former athlete with ever fiber of his being. Of course, although Paige was aware of his feelings, Walter was very meticulous about keeping it from Ralph. He didn't want to influence the boy's attitude and feelings for his father one way or the other. But it still didn't stop Walter from wanting to punch Dew in his stupid face every time he saw him.

Ralph put Ferret Bueller back on the counter and walked over to the table as Walter sat back in the chair and crossed his arms over his chest. "You know, you don't have to go visit him next week, Ralph, if you don't want to. You can stay here with the team while we're away."

Ralph shrugged. "It's okay. If I tell him I don't want to go he'll want to talk to mom for sure. And if I don't go she'll probably try to cancel your trip and that will ruin everything."

Walter pursed his lips as he evaluated the meaning of the young boy's words. "It won't ruin anything, buddy. I can easily adapt my plans for your mom."

"No," Ralph insisted as she shook his head stubbornly. "Don't change anything. She's going to love it and I don't mind visiting him. He'll be fine once I get there. He always is."

"Are you sure?" Walter asked, not wanting the Ralph to spend time with Drew if he didn't want to.

"Yes," Ralph nodded. "You've been planning this for months. It would be completely inefficient to change now with only days left," Ralph said through a yawn.

Ralph was right, of course. Walter had been planning this trip for months. However part of him wondered if he was doing the right thing, not giving Paige a say in it. Everything had been arranged, and everything in his gut told him that she would love what he was planning, but that didn't mean he couldn't change his mind.

But rather than second guess himself, which was completely inefficient, for what was probably hundredth time, Walter decided to stop worrying about it, which again was a completely inefficient endeavor.

Besides he and Ralph had much bigger things to worry about. Like how to tell his mom that the young genius had uploaded his game unsupervised.

"You should probably head to bed now," Walter sighed. He needed time to plan how to approach breaking the news to Paige. "If your mom finds out you were not only up half the night but on that site unsupervised, we'll both be in even more trouble."

"Okay," Ralph yawned again then frowned. "Are you going to tell her about the game?"

"I don't keep secrets from her."

Ralph arched his brow. "You mean like this trip?"

Walter's brow furrowed. "That's different. This is a surprise."

"Keep telling yourself that," Ralph snickered and grabbed his laptop from the table.

"Leave that here," Walter instructed as he held out his hand. "If you're going to throw me to the wolves by making me be the one to tell your mom you posted your game before I looked at it I need to, at least, be armed with all the information."

Ralph's eyes widened and he skin paled.

"Why do you look like that?"

"No reason," Ralph muttered but the way his eyes shifted between Walter and his laptop, the genius knew Ralph wasn't telling him the truth.

"Okay," Walter didn't push but shook his outstretched hand and Ralph reluctantly handed him the laptop. "Now get some sleep. Your mom will be upset if she knows you didn't sleep."

Ralph chucked despite his anxiety. That was the second time Walter expressed concern over Paige being upset. Ralph knew Walter never wanted to see his mom upset and would do just about anything to prevent it. Even if it meant encouraging Ralph to do something that they both knew he didn't need.

Like Walter, Ralph functioned perfectly on only a few hours of sleep. It was a side effect of their dense brains; something his mom never truly understood. Or perhaps she refused to understand because her first instinct was always to be concerned for his well being.

As Ralph trudged slowly by his chair, Walter saw him stop out of the corner of his eye.

"Walter?"

"Yes?"

"My mom is going to love your surprise by the way. All three of them."

Walter looked up at him, his eyes unreadable. "You think so?"

Ralph nodded. "Yes."

"Why?" Walter asked.

"Because she loves you."

Walter nodded but remained silent. He saw Ralph shoot one last anxious glance at his laptop before the young genius walked out of the kitchen.

"Goodnight, Walter," he heard from behind him as Ralph approached the stairs.

"Goodnight, Ralph," Walter replied before he opened Ralph's laptop. Although he had his own coding work to do, he decided to see what Ralph had done first.

############

Hours later Walter was so engrossed in the lines of code he was typing he didn't hear Paige come up behind him. It wasn't until her soft fingers brushed along the back of his neck that he realized she was there.

"Hey," she said softly as her fingers slid through his short hair, massaging a gentle path up the back of his skull. Walter's entire body instantly relaxed at her touch.

"What are you doing up?" he asked for the second time that night as he leaned back in his chair and let his head fall back against her chest.

"I'd ask you the same thing," she murmured as her fingers slid up over the top of his head and then back down to his neck again before dropping over his shoulders to rest on his chest from behind. "But it would be redundant. Have you been down here since I fell asleep?"

"Mmhmm," Walter murmured back. He grasped her hand and tugged her gently to the side as he pushed the chair back slightly so he could see her. She was wearing the gray button down he had worn the previous day and her hair was pinned in a messy knot on top of her head. He noticed the slight imprint of the pillow on her cheek as his eyes raked over her from head to toe, stopping briefly at the button that rested between her breasts.

Above it, the shirt was open and the shadow of her cleavage beneath it taunted him. He never understood the appeal of a woman wearing a man's clothing until the first time Paige wore one of his button downs. Now just the mere sight of her in one had his entire body clenching with need.

"Walter, it's almost four," she murmured again as she reached out and brushed her thumb over the dark circle beneath his right eye. Her genius boyfriend needed less sleep than most people but she still worried when he tried to function on only a couple of hours a night. "You need to get some sleep."

He shrugged casually. "I got immersed in this and lost track of the time."

Paige leaned against the edge of the table and glanced at his laptop. But Walter's eyes were drawn down to her legs. His shirt fell to her mid-thigh and he let his gaze rest on the smooth flesh he'd been buried between a mere few hours ago. His fingers flexed as his body instinctively reacted to the memory and he groaned internally. He shouldn't want her again this soon. It couldn't possibly be normal.

"Is that Ralph's laptop?" Paige asked curiously as she motioned with her head to the second laptop on the other side of the table.

"Huh?" he said before her question finally registered and he cleared his throat as he looked up at her. "Uh, yeah. Ralph was down here when I came down."

Paige's brow furrowed as she crossed her arms over her chest. The movement caused the hem of Walter's shirt to lift just slightly. Once more his eyes were drawn to her legs and he shifted in his seat as his fingers flexed again.

"What was he doing awake?"

Walter forced himself to look up at her face again. "Working on his game."

"Was that all he was doing?" she asked with a hint of hesitance in her voice.

"Uh, sure," Walter replied halfheartedly. He didn't want to lie to Paige but he'd found more than the coding for his game on Ralph's computer.

"That was real convincing Walter." Paige arched a skeptical brow at him.

Walter took less than two seconds to debate which truth would be the lesser of two evils and decided the game was it.

"He, uh, uploaded his game to the beta site on Saturday," Walter heaved out a harsh breath and waited for her wrath.

"He what?" Paige asked as she pushed off the table and stood up, her eyes flashing. "Did you know he was going to do that? I thought we agreed you'd show me the game and where he was going to post if before he did it."

"That was, uh, the plan."

Paige narrowed her eyes. "And what happened to the plan, Walter?"

He didn't want to throw the young genius under the bus but Walter quickly realized he was going to have to.

"He grew impatient. I've already spoken to him about it and made it clear that he was wrong to go against both our wishes. He knows he screwed up."

"So you didn't know he was going to do it?"

Walter crossed his arms over his chest defensively. "No. He didn't tell me the game was ready yet. But I thoroughly checked his computer and logged into his account on the beta game site." Then his tone turned from defensive to impressed. Walter couldn't help but feel proud at how far Ralph had taken his coding without any help from him. Then again the young genius was almost as intelligent as he was, with an IQ measured at 185, only 12 points lower than Walters. "It still needs a lot of work but he's got a good base for it and is receiving some very productive feedback already."

Paige gave him a long look. To Walter, if the outcome of a situation was favorable then he could often overlook the methods. He and Paige frequently disagreed about that and it certainly didn't fly when it came to her son and he knew it. But that didn't stop Walter from trying to defend the young genius.

"Don't sound so proud of him," Paige scolded. "He defied both of us. Why would he do that when he knew he wasn't supposed to?"

"He was impetuous. And he's fifteen," Walter answered her with a slight shrug, as if that was an acceptable answer.

Paige sighed because even though it wasn't an acceptable answer, knowing her son they way she did, it was a reasonable one. Ralph was at the age where he was starting to really assert his independence and her little boy was pulling away from her.

For more than half his young life she failed to connect with him and all that lost time broke her heart to remember. But since he was nine, thanks to Walter and the team, she had finally been able to understand and relate to her genius son. And she wasn't ready to let that go yet, but she didn't know what to do to prevent it.

"So is that all you found on his computer?" Paige asked again as she stepped between Walter's legs and lifted her hand to run her fingers through his short hair.

Walter looked up at her as he unconsciously reached out and fluttered his fingertips down the back of her thighs. "Pretty much." Distracted by her proximity the next words slipped out of his mouth before he could stop them. "Why? Were you expecting me to find something else?"

Paige trembled softly under his hands but then she sighed again as her hands slid down the sides of his face to rest on his shoulders.

"I walked by his room the other night and caught a glimpse of his screen before he slammed his laptop shut."

"What did you see?" Walter asked absently as his eyes dropped once again to the shadow of flesh exposed between her breasts.

"I think he was looking at porn," she replied as her fingers flexed on his shoulders.

Walter coughed and dropped his hands to his thighs as his eyes shifted to the screen of his laptop.

"Did you find porn on his computer, Walter?" she asked him suspiciously.

"No," Walter dragged the word out slowly. Technically that was the truth. It wasn't on his hard drive.

"Why do I think that's not exactly the truth?" She shifted between his thighs and then brought one hand to his chin and tilted his face so he would look at her.

She gave him an expectant look and he pursed his lips. This wasn't a battle he was going to win.

"It wasn't on his computer. It was in his internet search history."

She dropped her hand from his chin and it fell to her side. "I checked that already. He erases his search history."

Walter's lips curled up on the right side. "Yeah but I know how to access it."

"You're going to have to teach me that," she murmured before she once again lifted her hand to his shoulder.

"So you can spy on your son?" Walter asked as his eyes dropped briefly to her cleavage again before looking back at her face.

"It's not spying," she scoffed softly before she stepped back to, again, lean against the side of the table. "It's being aware of what he's doing. He may be a genius, intellectually, Walter, but he's still a child."

"It is spying," Walter insisted as he frowned, not liking the distance she was putting between them. "And he's not a child, Paige," he added carefully, knowing how sensitive the subject of Ralph growing up was for her. "He's a teenage boy who is on the cusp of manhood."

"I'm not ready for this at all, Walter." The skin between her eyebrows scrunched as her brow furrowed and her lips curved down into a frown.

Walter reached up and smoothed it with his thumb before grasping her hips gently and pulling her toward him again. He still wasn't adept at offering comfort, even to her, but he tried when he recognized her need for contact. "You can't stop him from growing up, Paige. Even wanting to is illogical."

"I don't want to stop him," she argued weakly as one of her hands covered his on her hip. It was her way of acknowledging his attempt. "But I wouldn't mind delaying him for a while. How does he even know about porn anyway?"

"Did you seriously just ask that question?" Walter asked, although his question was essentially rhetorical.

"He's only fifteen," she insisted, grasping at straws.

"And are you saying you didn't know about sex at fifteen? Come on, Paige, now you're just being ridiculous."

Paige glared at him but, long used to his often deficient verbal filter, she didn't take offense. She knew he wasn't dismissing her feelings; he was just being, well, Walter. "I've never even had a conversation with him about sex yet."

Walter shook his head. "You don't need to. He knows about sex, Paige. He asked me about it years ago."

Paige blinked. "I'm sorry, what?"

Walter reached over to the table and closed his laptop. He clearly wasn't going to get back to his work tonight. "He came to me not long after you and I started sleeping together and asked me if we had sex?"

Paige stepped back away from him and bumped into the table. "Are you freaking kidding me, Walter? What did you tell him?"

The horrified look on her face was almost comical but Walter frowned and bit his bottom lip as he replied. "I told him the truth."

"Oh god, Walter," Paige groaned as she reached over and lightly smacked him on the back of the head.

"Ow," Walter reached up and rubbed the spot even though her smack really didn't hurt.

"Why would you do that?" she asked exasperated.

"He asked," Walter replied before adding. "I think it was his segue into asking about sex in general."

"Well, what did you tell him?" she asked again, needing to know while simultaneously not wanting to.

"I gave him Toby's medical journal," Walter replied as if it was obvious. "And told him to read it and come back with any questions he had."

"And did he?"

Walter shrugged. "He had a few."

"So what did you tell him?" she asked a third time.

Walter was pretty sure Paige didn't want to know what Ralph asked him, nor the truthful answers he'd given the boy. "Although I can recall and repeat it verbatim, do you really want me to relay the conversation in its entirety?"

Paige chuckled humorlessly as she just imagined what Walter's answers would have been. She'd probably be even more horrified than she already was at the knowledge that her son had inquired about her and Walter's sex life. "No, I guess not. But Walter you should have told me."

"I'm telling you now."

"You should have told me then," she replied, clearly disappointed with him. She tapped his shoulder with her finger they way she often did to Ralph when she was scolding him.

Walter gripped her hips and pulled her to stand between his legs again. He'd had enough of her pulling back from him. "Why does it feel like you are more upset at me for not telling you Ralph asked me about sex, _four years ago_ , than you are at him for trolling porn sites?"

"I'm not really upset at either of you," Paige admitted honestly as she let him guide her closer, resting her hands on his shoulders again as her fingertips caressed his neck.

"I'm confused. What was this interrogation for then?"

Paige laughed softly. "I wouldn't call it an interrogation. And I know all of this was bound to happen eventually but I just wish it didn't happen for a few more years. I'm losing my baby, Walter."

Walter debated how to respond. If he pointed out the obvious, that Ralph hadn't been a baby in over, at least, thirteen years, he knew he would sound insensitive. But pep talks were just not his forte. He was better at distracting her, when she was upset, than he was at offering her fumbling attempts at comfort. And if the fluttering of her fingertips against his neck was any indication he figured she just might be ripe for a little distraction.

So he shrugged and lifted his hands to her chest, his fingers fiddling with the top button on her shirt, casually slipping it through the hole. "If it's any consolation he didn't visit many sites and they were all pretty tame for the most part. You can't access full on porn without paying, although he is more than capable of hacking it, so he was just looking at amateur soft core. There were a couple of sex sites but clearly he's got an obsession with breasts because that was the majority of what he watched."

Paige let out a short laugh despite herself.

"I can't blame him," Walter murmured as his fingers deftly released yet another button on the front of her shirt, exposing more of her flesh to his gaze. "I'm quite partial to breasts too."

"Is that so?" Paige laughed as she looked down at his hands.

"Well one pair of breasts anyway," Walter's tongue peeked between his teeth as he brushed his fingers over the soft swell of the inside of Paige's right breast.

He swallowed as his eyes darkened and the look on his face made Paige gasp softly. When he looked at her like that it always felt like her body would burst into flames and all thoughts of her son and their previous conversation fled.

"My eyes are up here," she murmured has her hands reached down and tugged on the hem of his t-shirt.

Walter's lips curved into a mischievous grin but he raised his arms without question and allowed her to remove the cotton fabric from his body.

But before she completely let the subject drop, Paige combed her fingers through Walter's hair as she asked. "Will you talk to him about it? I could ask Toby but god only knows what kinds of twisted things he'd tell Ralph."

Walter snorted as he gripped her hips again and pulled her even closer so he could brush his nose against the soft skin between her breasts. He inhaled and let the soft, familiar scent of her invade his nostrils. It made every muscle in his body, again, clench with need. "I don't think I'm the best person for that. Porn was never something that interested me."

"Are you telling me you never watched porn?" Her voice was tinged with mirthful disbelief.

"I didn't say that," Walter pulled his head back and looked up at her. "I just didn't find it very stimulating and it was inefficient use of my time to watch something that didn't stimulate my mind."

Paige's lips curved upward into a sultry grin. "Porn isn't meant to stimulate your mind, Walter," she purred as she straddled his legs and plopped down on his thighs. She slid her arms over his shoulders and leaned forward, brushing her lips against the shell of his ear as she breathed her next words.

"It's meant to stimulate your body."

Walter's fingers flexed, pressing into the soft skin of her hips. He felt the heat of her through his pajamas and he groaned. He was already hard but the feel of her caused his already aroused body to surge.

Her lips curved against his skin. "It appears _I'm_ able to stimulate your body."

"St..st..stimulation is good," Walter stuttered softly and Paige let out a breathy laugh against his neck.

As a general rule, Walter still disliked physical contact. It just made him uncomfortable, uneasy and, oftentimes, made him want to crawl out of his skin. The only touch he could tolerate was Paige's and, to a lesser degree, Ralph's. In fact, if he was honest, Walter _more_ than tolerated Paige's touch. He'd grown to need it, rely on it and crave it. She could simultaneously calm and arouse him and it often muddled his normally clear brain. Just like she was doing now.

Paige lifted her head and cupped his face in her palms as she fused her lips with his. Walter automatically gripped her hips and pressed her down onto him as he groaned softly into her mouth. The heat of her was becoming too much and he instantly knew why.

As Paige pressed closer, crushing her breasts against his chest, Walter's hands slid down beneath the hem of the shirt. His fingers pressed into the soft, naked flesh of her ass and his groan turned to a growl as he realized the _only_ thing she was wearing was his shirt.

"Walter," Paige gasped softly into his mouth as he bucked his hips beneath her. "God, I need you again."

Walter slid his hands lower, letting the rough pads of his fingertips brush against her, and he found her warm and wet. Paige's legs trembled on either side of his and she slipped her tongue into his mouth as a fresh wave of her arousal coated his fingers.

Paige circled her hips over him, slowly, as his fingers teased her. Needing more of the taste of her, Walter tore his lips away and kissed a wet path down her neck. He reached one hand up and tugged gently at the knot on her head, letting her hair tumble down around her shoulders.

"We should take this upstairs," he panted against the hollow of her throat but he made no move to do just that.

Paige's body shuddered in response to his touch and a soft whimper escaped her lips before she leaned down and swirled her tongue against the shell of his ear. And that sensation, combined with her warm breath, caused Walter to buck his hips beneath her once again.

"We're fine," she whispered against his ear. "Ralph is asleep."

Walter tilted his head back. "I thought that, too, when I came down a few hours ago." Walter fluttered his fingertips against her heated flesh and felt, yet another, rush of her arousal coat them. He became impossibly harder in response.

"But I checked on him just before I walked down here. He's out like a light," she replied breathlessly. "Now will you just shut up and kiss me already."

Paige covered his lips with hers again, sliding her tongue along the seam of his lips, requesting entrance. Walter opened for her eagerly and the kiss deepened and lengthened.

She slid her hand down his chest, over his abdomen, until her nimble fingers dipped beneath the waistband of his pajamas. She could feel him hard between her thighs, already, but when her warm fingers wrapped around his shaft, she felt him surge, hardening and lengthening in her palm. She stroked him firmly, just the way he liked and he choked her name against her lips before burying her face in the hollow of her throat.

"Paige." His voice was hoarse and guttural and Paige took that as approval to continue. She slowly slid her hand down before tugging upward, repeating the motion slowly and more firmly with each pass. Walter's body jerked and his fingers momentarily stilled as he clamped his lips onto her throat, swirling his tongue against her skin as he sucked shakily.

"Don't mark me, Walter." Paige barely had the clarity of mind to remind him because he had a propensity for leaving marks on her body. She didn't mind if it was in places no one, but him, saw, but her throat was one of their agreed upon _off limits_ areas. Wearing a turtle neck in the spring in Los Angeles was not something Paige could do to hide the evidence of his hunger for the taste of her skin.

Reluctantly he tore his lips away from her skin and he momentarily released her, also pulling his fingers away from her swollen flesh. With one quick motion he ripped the front of his shirt open, sending buttons flying everywhere, finally exposing all of her to his gaze. His eyes darkened and one arm reached around her and pulled her toward him. He wrapped one arm around her waist, his hand gripping her hip as the other reached up and cupped her breast. His fingers flexed around the soft globe as his thumb brushed softly over the hard bud in the center. Paige's head fell back and her eyes fluttered closed just as he lowered his mouth to her. His lips wrapped around her nipple and he flicked it rapidly with his tongue.

Her hand stilled as he suckled her, teasing her with a combination of gentle nips and swipes of his tongue.

"Walter," she breathed his name hoarsely. He didn't exaggerate when he said he was partial to her breasts. Obsessed would be more accurate. Who would have ever guessed that Walter O'Brien was a bona fide _breast man_? Not that Paige was complaining. Quite the contrary.

Paige's breasts were the second most intense erogenous zone on her body. Even the slightest stimulation to them would send her arousal skyrocketing. More times than she could count, over the years, Walter had been able to bring her to orgasm just from stimulating her breasts alone. And it was something he was extremely smug about.

As Walter released her nipple and sought out the other one, Paige frantically pushed the front of his pajamas down and released him from the confines of the material. She pushed up on the balls of her feet, lifting just enough to guide him inside her.

As she sunk down on him her hands grasped Walter's face, pulling it up so she could kiss him again. Both of his hands grasped her hips as she started riding him slowly, their bodies moving in unison, with the familiar push and pull synchronized from years of practice.

Paige panted into his mouth as she rocked her hips, rolling them in tandem with his, with practiced ease, as Walter lifted and lowered her on his shaft, pushing deeper inside her with each thrust of his hips.

For several long minutes the only sounds in the dark garage were the panting breaths of the two lovers, combined with the sound of wet flesh slapping and the squeaking of the old kitchen chair beneath them.

Paige rolled her hips forward and back meeting each of his thrusts eagerly. She opened her eyes and saw him watching her, his eyes dark and filled with such desire it made her gasp. He always watched her, very rarely closing his eyes when they made love.

She asked him once why he did it.

"Because you're gloriously beautiful," he had replied with no hesitation in his very matter-of-fact, Walter, way and his response made her fall in love with him all over again.

The man had no idea what his words did to her sometimes. He only stated facts and for him it was very simple. But to Paige it was everything.

All too soon Paige's entire body began to tremble on top of his as she felt her orgasm starting low and deep. She felt the sensation spreading outward and she arched her back. Walter's mouth sought out her breasts again, and he teased her as his tongue swirled over the soft flesh, lapping at the hard, pebbled nipples in the center. Paige grasped the back of his head, holding him captive against her and her thighs trembled around his as her orgasm rolled over her long waves.

Walter released her nipple and grunted as he felt her tighten around him. It was a feeling he would never tire of. As he felt her body pulse rhythmically around him, he stilled, gritting his teeth, trying to stave off his own release until she completed hers.

His lips began their ascent upward. His tongue swirled over the hollow of her throat, again, as he wrapped his arms around her, pulling her flush against his chest.

Paige whimpered into his mouth as he kissed her, her name slipping past his lips as he gripped her hips again, hard, pressing his fingers into the soft flesh as he held her still now. As usual he kept his eyes open, watching her face as he began pumping his hips upward, steadily and deep, driving himself toward his orgasm. Paige moaned his name into his mouth as she wrapped her arms tightly around him and pressed her breasts against his chest. Finally after several more thrusts, Walter surged his hips upward one last time before they stilled.

He hissed incoherently into her mouth, his eyes finally slipping closed, and his body shuddered beneath hers as he jerked and exploded inside her. Paige's body continued to pulse around him, milking him, as their frantic kisses slowed and softened, finally, morphing into soft sips of each other's lips.

Walter released a shuddering breath as he pulled his lips away from hers. His eyes fluttered open and quickly he noticed something out of the corner of his eye.

"Ferret Bueller is watching us," he murmured as he glared at the ferret on the counter across the room. He was notorious for watching them if he was mistakenly left out of his cage at night, which Walter forgot he was.

Once Walter woke to find the ferret sitting on his chest just inches away from Paige's head as it rested over his heart. The ferret was nibbling on one of his meat treats while he looked back and forth between him and Paige. It was quite creepy and Walter immediately ushered the small animal away without waking Paige. But when he told her about it the next morning she only laughed and shrugged. Her reaction confused Walter but he'd learned over the years to just accept that she would constantly confuse him.

"He's such a perv," Paige chuckled softly before her head dropped onto Walter's shoulder and he felt his lips curving into a smile. He knew she would be out within minutes so he pressed a soft kiss against her neck and then the shell of her ear.

"We better get upstairs now."

Paige shook her head tiredly. "No, can't move," she murmured.

Now it was Walter's turn to chuckle. "Well as long as you don't mind Ralph finding us like this when he wakes up."

Paige's head jerked up and she pushed on his shoulders as she stood on shaky legs.

"Back to bed it is," she said and she backed up so he could stand. She tugged his shirt closed and quickly realized that all the buttons were gone.

"Oops," she chuckled again as Walter tucked himself back into his pajamas. "You have to stop tearing these shirts off me when I wear them. You're not going to have any left."

"Totally worth it," he murmured as he shrugged and his lips grinned unrepentantly before he took Paige's hand and led her upstairs to the bedroom.

Paige climbed back under the sheets, leaving Walter's shirt on. He slipped into bed beside her and she settled in his arms, pressing her breasts against his side.

"I love you," she murmured softly against his neck before pressing a soft kiss against his skin.

Paige was a woman who felt compelled to tell the men in her life she loved them. It was important to her to say the words as well as show them. But she did this with very little reciprocity from them. It's not that she needed to hear the words. She knew they both loved her. She saw it in their eyes, felt it in their touches and in the ways in which they cared for her. But it would be nice to hear it once in a while.

Neither of her two geniuses was very good at verbally expressing their emotions, although Ralph was better than Walter. But she was okay with that. She loved them both desperately and accepted them exactly as they were.

Paige never questioned Walter's feelings for her and hadn't for years, not since the first time he told her he loved her. But it was only during the deep, dark recesses of the night, when it was just the two of them that Walter let all of his EQ out. It was only then, when the two of them were alone, and usually stripped bare, both figuratively and literally, that Walter hid nothing from her. And it always left her breathless. He was capable of such intensity of emotion when he let himself embrace it.

And it was in those moments, when he turned all the intensity that was Walter O'Brien on her, that she truly understood how deeply he felt for her. Normally that intensity was focused on intellectual pursuits. But everything Walter did he did with gusto and that included making love to her.

Of course, he would never refer to it as making love, was horrified whenever anyone referred to it as that, but when Walter focused every part of his body and brain on her, Paige felt desired and loved in a way she never thought was possible. So there was no other way to describe it, at least to her, than making love.

She pressed another brief kiss against the skin of his throat before she turned over, facing away from him and buried her face sleepily in her pillow. Walter turned on his side and rested his head on his palm as he watched her silently for a few minutes. Finally he gave into temptation and wrapped his arm around her waist, pulling her back, flush to his chest. As she melted into him and, again, made that soft sound in the back of her throat that indicated she'd succumbed to slumber once more, Walter buried his face in her hair and whispered the words he said to her every night he held her in his arms.

################

"So I hear you and the boss-man are going on a secret, little, romantic rendezvous this weekend," Toby said as he grinned up at Paige as she descended the stairs.

She narrowed her eyes and looked at him suspiciously. "How do you know that already? Walter just asked me last night and he hasn't come down yet this morning."

"A little birdie told me," Toby replied as he motioned with his head toward Ralph who was in the kitchen feeding Ferret Bueller his breakfast of raw meat.

"And does he know where Walter is taking me?" Paige arched her brow inquisitively.

"You'll have to ask him. You probably have some leverage, you know, with him getting busted and all."

"You should mind your own business, Doc." Happy's annoyed voice floated from behind the wall where she was taking apart some sort of electronic device.

"Yeah, Toby. Happy is right," Sylvester chimed in from where he stood at his chalkboard. "If you keep along this line there is a ninety two percent chance you will slip up and then an almost one hundred percent chance Walter will murder you."

"So basically everyone knows where Walter is taking me but me?" Paige said with a little pout. She hated being kept out of the loop.

"Pretty much," Toby agreed with no remorse. "But don't fight it, Miss Dineen. Our emotionally stunted leader so rarely attempts to be romantic so you should just revel in this. It's likely to be a one-time thing."

"Toby, shut up already before _I_ murder you," Happy called to him as she moved over to her welder.

"But I'm just-" Toby started before Sylvester chimed in again.

"You should probably listen to your girlfriend, Toby. It usually ends badly for you when you don't."

Paige just shook her head and walked away from Toby and toward her son.

"Ralph, honey, isn't your first class at nine?" Paige asked as she glanced at her watch. She walked up beside him and, from years of habit, she brushed her fingers gently through his hair.

"Yeah, but I got an email from the professor this morning. It's cancelled."

After remaining in primary school for a few more years, Ralph finally entered Cal-Tech two years earlier. He was in the second semester of his sophomore year and was thriving in the new academic environment. But due to his age he still wasn't able to drive so Paige or one of the team had to drive him to campus each day.

"What time do we have to leave to get you to your second class?" she asked as she noticed Ferret Bueller excitedly trying to get her attention, so reached over and stroked his head briefly.

"In just a few minutes but you don't have to drive me today. Walter's taking me so we can stop by the biophysics lab to check my experiment."

"Oh," Paige said a little disappointed because she liked taking Ralph to school. It gave her a chance to spend some uninterrupted time with her son which was rare these days. And, besides, she wanted to have a discussion with him about his game. She had no doubt this impromptu plan of his and Walter's was a way to delay the inevitable.

"Avoiding me isn't going to get you out of trouble, you know."

"I'm aware I screwed up, mom," Ralph replied, repeating exactly what Walter had said the night before. He gave the last bite of meat to Ferret Bueller before standing up and looking over at Paige. He had sprouted up recently and was just about to surpass his mother in height. She suspected he was going to be taller than Walter, and even Drew, by the time he was done growing. "I think the constant supervision is unnecessary and an inefficient use of all our time but I respect your wishes and I'm sorry I went against them. It won't happen again."

She could see the sincerity in her son's eyes and, as always, he was instantly forgiven.

"I'd like you to show me your game tonight."

Ralph grinned and nodded his head. "Sure. It's turning out so cool," he gushed excitedly. "I modeled the track after the streets around the garage."

"I can't wait to see it." Paige smiled at his enthusiasm.

"You ready Ralph?" Walter called from above. "We want to make sure we have enough time to make adjustments based on the results so far."

"Yeah, let me just get my backpack." Ralph grabbed his laptop from the table and started to walk away but Paige put her hand on his arm.

"Before you go, tell me, do you know where Walter is taking me this weekend?"

Ralph smiled at her indulgently. "Of course," he answered honestly before adding. "And, no, I'm not going to tell you, mom."

"Is this trip why you asked to go visit Drew during spring break?" she asked curiously.

"It just kind of worked out that way," Ralph replied casually, almost too casually, and although Paige wanted to ask him more she decided it was not the time.

"You're really not going to tell me?"

"Nope," he said with another grin and Paige frowned.

"I don't think I like the two of you keeping secrets from me."

"Don't know what to tell you but my lips are sealed." Ralph bolted over to his desk and shoved his laptop into his backpack just as Walter came down the back ramp and across the garage.

Paige watched her son wistfully as the realization hit her that her baby boy truly was no longer her baby boy. And he never would be again. As proud as she was of the man he was growing to become, the loss of her little boy left an ache in the center of her chest.

"Is it okay I take him this morning?" Walter asked as he poured himself a cup of coffee, oblivious to her contemplative musings.

"Does it really matter at this point?" she asked as her lips curved up on the right. "I know you were just trying to protect him from my wrath but neither of you have to worry. You're right he knows he screwed up."

Walter smirked and walked over to her. "We geniuses usually only have to screw up once to learn our lessons."

"Usually," she murmured sardonically.

"I'm ready," Ralph called as he headed toward the door without so much as a goodbye to his mother.

"Gotta go," Walter said as he turned and set his, now, empty coffee cup on the table. "I'll be back in a few hours. Call if any cases come up."

He strode over to his desk and grabbed his tablet and car keys before following Ralph out the door.

"Bye," Paige said halfheartedly to herself because both of her geniuses were already long gone.

She reached down and picked up Ferret Bueller, who was pawing at her hip trying to get her attention. He burrowed himself comfortably against her chest and Paige couldn't help but roll her eyes at the irony of all the males in her life being obsessed with boobs.

"You need to stop being a little pervert," she scolded him softly but he just continued trying to burrow his head down her shirt. She finally pulled him away and set him back on the table as Toby walked up to her.

"So do you know what Walter's plans are?" she asked without preamble.

"Nope," he replied and grinned as he shoved his hands into his pockets.

"I can make it worth your while," she offered as she rubbed her two fingers and her thumb together.

"Miss Dineen, what kind of man do you think I am?" I cannot be bribed with money."

"Yes you can," both Happy and Sylvester called, in unison, from the other room causing Paige to laugh and Toby to scowl.

"Come on Toby. I know you know."

"I most certainly do not," he scoffed unconvincingly.

She narrowed her eyes at him. "I don't need to be a behaviorist to know when someone is lying to me Toby."

He snorted and then his eyes softened as he looked at her, tilting his head curiously. "And I don't need to be one to know that from the look you had on your face when you were watching Ralph, and the way your hand instinctively covered your abdomen as you did, that Mama Dineen's biological clock just might have started ticking." Paige looked at him like he had three heads. "Or maybe it's already tocked," he added as an afterthought, quietly, but still loud enough for her to hear.

"Sometimes you can be such an ass, Toby," Paige said as she shook her head and walked away without another word.

She ignored the sound of Toby yelping as something hit the back of his head but she smiled to herself, glad Happy threw something at him.

################

Paige settled into the seat next to the window and looked out over the tarmac. Walter was at the front of the plane speaking quietly to the flight attendant, not making any attempt to hide that he didn't want her to hear what was being discussed.

He'd been incredibly secretive for the last four days, ever since she agreed to their weekend getaway. Ralph had left to visit Drew, for spring break, flying out earlier that morning to spend the next seven days in Portland. And now she and Walter were off to their own weekend escape, one that Walter still refused to tell her the destination.

Paige had tried to convince him to tell her where they were going but he refused, holding out against even her most _persuasive_ attempts. And even though she used all her motherly wiles on Ralph, he also refused to tell her, protecting Walter's plans for her. And despite how curious she was, she loved nothing more than knowing her son and her boyfriend were close enough that they kept each other's confidences.

Finally Walter walked over and took the seat next to her. "You should buckle up. We're taking off in a minute."

Paige fastened the seatbelt around her hips and turned slightly to face him.

"Since you won't tell me where we're going, will you at least tell me how, exactly, you convinced Richard Elia to let you borrow one of his private planes?"

"I asked him," Walter replied as he glanced over at her.

"Just like that? You said 'hey Richard can I borrow your plane so I can take my girlfriend away for the weekend?' And he just said yes? No questions asked?"

Walter shrugged but didn't confirm nor deny her words.

"Come on, Walter. I'm not that naïve."

"I might have helped him with some coding in exchange for the use of the plane," Walter admitted knowing she wasn't going to let it go and they had a long flight ahead of them.

"You took a side job with him?" she asked surprised.

"I wouldn't exactly call it a side job." Walter fastened his own seat belt as he felt the plane begin to taxi across the tarmac.

"You performed work for him and he paid you with what is probably the equivalent of at least twenty thousand dollars if not more. Isn't that the definition of a job?" she challenged as she arched her brow.

Walter pursed his lips in response. "It's approximately twenty five thousand dollars per flight and we will be taking two, both there and back, so it's more like fifty thousand dollars. But technically what you're saying is accurate. I guess it would be considered a side job."

"Why didn't you tell me?"

She seemed to be asking him that a lot lately.

"What part of _I wanted to surprise you_ don't you understand?"

"Walter," she warned him quietly.

"That was rude. I'm sorry," He acknowledged contritely. "I just don't know what the big deal is. I helped him out and he's helping me out. If we had to take a commercial flight then you'd know already where we're going and I don't want you to know until you step off the plane."

Paige sighed heavily as her frown deepened. "So you just hid it from me?"

He looked at her confusion clouding his features. "Are you angry about this?"

She looked back at him, her eyes unreadable. She didn't know why she was so easily annoyed with his actions lately. "Although I appreciate you wanting to surprise me, I don't like it when you hide things from me, Walter. You promised you wouldn't do that anymore after the Italian job."

Walter stiffened at Paige's mention of the job they had taken a year earlier. It was one of the jobs that had gone sideways. They didn't have many of those anymore but every once in a while they still got caught up in cases that they were lucky to get out of.

On the Italian job, Paige had gotten hurt, and it was partially because he kept certain aspects of the case from her. He did if for her safety but in the end it was her lack of information that caused her to be put in harm's way. She'd been caught in the line of fire and was shot in the shoulder and had tumbled down the side of a ravine.

Walter felt his hands shaking and he clenched his fists as the memory of finding her unconscious, covered in blood, flooded his mind.

"Hey," Paige's voice was soft against his ear as her fingers pried the ones on his left hand apart. "Just breathe, Walter," she murmured as she linked their fingers together. She knew he never liked to be reminded of when she was hurt. He always shut down when that day was brought up.

"I shouldn't have said that," she admitted softly as her thumb brushed over the back of his hand.

"This isn't the same thing," he scowled. "I wanted to surprise you with this trip and the only way I could do that was to have a private charter. What I did for Elia was a means to an end but it required doing it outside Scorpion. I won't apologize for trying to surprise you."

Paige continued to caress his hand with her fingers and she felt him slowly relaxing. "I'm not asking you to Walter. All you had to say was 'I'm taking a private job from Richard and please don't ask me why because it is a surprise.' I would have let it go."

Walter arched his brow skeptically and she scoffed quietly.

"Okay I might not have let it go right away but I would have eventually."

After all their time together, Walter knew better than to argue with her at that moment.

"I know the whole team knew about this trip but did they know about your side job?" she asked curiously.

"Why would it be any of their business?"

"You're being vague and difficult, Walter," Paige replied seriously as she pulled her hand back. Sometimes he was too difficult.

"They all know exactly what I did," Walter said quietly. "... And why," he muttered the last two words, hoping Paige wouldn't catch it.

But she did and despite her annoyance that he kept it from her, and as hard as she tried to remain mad at him for keeping secrets, she knew his intentions were pure and his actions were done out of a desire to make her happy. So she decided just to let it go.

Paige sat back against the seat and looked out the window again. She could see him sitting stiffly next to her, and she knew he was questioning his actions even though he'd never admit it. So she reached out and took his hand again, entwining their fingers together. He squeezed gently and she could feel the relief in both his touch and his demeanor.

"So, you're really going to make me wait until we get there to know where we're going?" Paige asked as she looked over him again, smiling softly now to let him know she was no longer mad.

He looked at her for a long moment, gauging the tenor of her question and what he saw in her face relaxed him.

"Yep," he grinned back. "You'll find out soon enough."

"Well will you at least tell me how long the flight it?"

He took a moment to answer her and she knew he was debating if that knowledge would give their destination away. "Approximately eight and a half hours."

"And if I asked the flight attendant, would she tell me?"

"Nope. She has strict instructions not to tell you anything."

"Apparently everybody does," she pouted a little and Walter brushed his thumb gently against the back of her hand in response.

Then she surprised him by leaning over and pressing a soft kiss to the corner of his mouth. His eyes immediately shot to the flight attendant settling in her seat at the front of the plane. It was his automatic reaction whenever Paige showed physical affection toward him when there was anyone else around.

But he relaxed again as he realized the flight attendant wasn't paying them any mind and his eyes slid back to Paige. He found her smiling softly as she reached one hand up and brushed the hint of her lipstick off the corner of his mouth.

"What was that for?" he asked.

"That was to say thank you for being sweet and surprising me with this trip. Wherever it is we're going."

He looked at her with a slightly confused gaze. "Now you're thanking me? Two seconds ago you were upset with me."

She shrugged before kissing the corner of his mouth again. "I'm a woman. I have the prerogative of changing my mind whenever I want to."

It took him four and half seconds to gauge if perhaps he'd miscalculated her menstrual cycle but she was definitely mid-cycle so her mood swing couldn't be the result of the complex physical and/or emotional effects of PMS.

At one time Walter would have scoffed at the existence of PMS. He would have insisted it was a woman's way of excusing irrational behavior. But not anymore. The phenomenon was very real and, some months, Walter still struggled to navigate its existence in the woman beside him. Ninety five percent of the time Paige was level headed and calm and rational. But there were those rare times he wondered if it were possible that she had a split personality.

Finally he tilted his head in acquiescence because he knew no matter how he tried to understand the beautiful woman beside him, she would always find new ways to confuse, intrigue and surprise him.

"Smart man," Paige chuckled before she tilted her head back and closed her eyes, tugging her and Walter's joined hands to her lap as the small plane lifted into the air.

And as he indulged in just watching her, Walter was once again absolutely certain of his plans.

To be Continued...

* * *

Thanks again for reading.


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I don't own anything Scorpion

So I've been trying to get this chapter edited for days but kept getting distracted with ideas for one-shots and I'm like that dog in Disney's UP….. I see a squirrel and I lose focus instantly... And these days if I don't write down what comes into my head immediately it's lost forever.

This chapter became a bit of a monster so I decided to break it into two… so this story will now be 4 chapters instead of 3.

Next chapter up tomorrow night and the final one sometime over the weekend.

For my readers who keep inquiring about _Breathe Again_ , thank you for reaching out. I haven't forgotten about it and I will get back to it. I appreciate your patience.

It's late here and although I've proof read this chapter twice, please excuse any typos. I'll reread tomorrow when I'm more awake and fix anything that is glaring.

Thanks to everyone for reading and reviewing and following.

Enjoy!

* * *

 **Gauguin – Chapter 2**

"We're here."

Paige's eyes fluttered open as she felt Walter shaking her gently.

"Already?" she yawned softly and arched her back as she stretched. "I thought you said it was going to be eight hours."

"It has been," he said absently as he shoved his laptop in his bag. He promised her no work this weekend but, due to the nature of their jobs, he never went anywhere without his laptop and tablet. And in the time she had been sleeping he was able to finish two projects. "You've been asleep for almost four."

"What?" Paige sat up and swayed slightly as everything around her spun.

Walter frowned as he saw her sway and he grabbed her forearm so she wouldn't topple forward.

"Hey, are you alright?"

She shook her head to clear it and then nodded. "Yeah. Just a head rush. I sat up too fast. Why did you let me sleep so long?"

He shrugged as he watched her closely. "I tried waking you once but you swatted my hand away so I just left you alone."

Paige unbuckled her seatbelt before reaching over to push up the slide that covered the window.

"No," Walter reached for her hand to stop her.

She looked over at him and rolled her eyes. "Why not? We're here. I should be able to know where we are now."

He chuckled at her petulant tone. "And you will in less than two minutes."

"Mr. O'Brien," the flight attendant said as she walked up to them. "Here are your passports. You've been pre-cleared through customs. Your luggage is at the bottom of the stairs and when you enter the terminal turn right and you will find a concierge waiting to process your rental car."

Walter stood and took the documents from her and nodded his head.

Paige stood beside him and shook her head imperceptibly before thanking the woman herself.

"Have a pleasant weekend and we will see you on Monday morning," the flight attendant said with a smile before she walked toward the back of the plane.

"How did she get my passport?" Paige asked as she reached down to grab her purse, which was tucked into the pocket between the seats.

"I got it out of your purse," Walter replied motioning to the item in her hand. "I tried asking you for it but, like I said, you swatted at me like I was a fly. You were also snoring lightly throughout most of the flight. That's a new and recent development."

"Really?" she looked genuinely surprised. "I haven't snored in over fifteen years." He looked at her curiously, wondering what she was trying to convey. "I did it the entire time I was pregnant with Ralph or, at least, according to Drew I did."

Walter made a face at the mention of Drew, the way he always did, and Paige just laughed at him before she continued. "Sorry about that. I hope it wasn't too obnoxious."

"It wasn't bothersome," Walter assured her. "It was very light like when you're coming down with a cold. Are you feeling well?"

"I feel fine. Maybe it had something to do with the altitude. Lucky you, I guess," she teased as she rubbed his arm gently.

"You ready?" He motioned toward the now open door of the plane.

The bright sun was streaming through the door and Paige could feel the heat outside. It was clearly warmer than Los Angeles, and more humid, but not oppressive.

She looked at him and he grinned. There was a combination of excitement and apprehension in his eyes and Paige wondered what could make him apprehensive but, instead of asking him, she decided to tease him. She stepped closer and just barely brushed her body against his as her lips ghosted across his cheek.

"I'm always ready," she breathed against his ear before she stepped back again.

Walter's eyes widened and hew swallowed reflexively before his eyes darkened. Paige smiled triumphantly before grasping his hand and tugging him toward the door.

She stepped through and took in the lush tropical scenery. At the bottom of the stairs were their two suitcases and her shoulder bag. Off to the right, across the tarmac was the ocean and off to the left was an expanse of green mountains. The highest peaks were wrapped in clouds that looked like large tufts of floating cotton.

Paige released his hand and tilted her head back, closing her eyes as she breathed deeply. "Where are we?" she asked after a few seconds of enjoying the sun on her face.

"Tahiti," Walter replied and he grabbed her elbow because she was standing precariously at the top of the stairs, too wrapped up in enjoying the sun to notice she was about to overstep the top step. "Be careful," he muttered as he pursed his lips.

She opened her eyes and looked at him, again, as her lips curved into a wide grin. "What are we doing in Tahiti?"

His fingers remained on her elbow as they carefully descended the stairs. "You said once that Gauguin's paintings of Tahiti were mind blowing so I thought you might like to see it yourself."

When they both reached the bottom, he released her and reached for the suitcases. Paige grabbed her shoulder bag before she turned to face him and wrapped her arms around his waist. "Thank you, Walter," she whispered with a wide smile.

Her smile still had the ability to stop him in his tracks and make him lose his train of thought. She was the only person who could do that to him.

"You're welcome," he replied as he stood somewhat stiffly next to her. Although, over the years, he'd gotten better at accepting her affectionate touches in public, as long as they remained innocuous, it still made him uncomfortable. In private he let her indulge in all the affection she desired and, for a man who had once despised physical contact, he found he not only enjoyed her attention but he craved it as well.

Before she could ask him anything else, Walter stepped back and motioned for her to walk ahead of him and into the terminal. Once inside, he looked to his right and saw a young Polynesian woman standing off to the right holding a sign with his name.

"I'm Walter O'Brien," he said as they approached the woman.

"Welcome to Tahiti, Mr. O'Brien," she said with a smile. "Please follow me."

This time Walter led as they followed the woman toward a counter along the far wall. The small airport was fairly crowded but, as it was an international airport it, was not surprising. They wove their way through dozens of other travelers who were waiting around one, of only two, luggage turnstiles in the airport.

"Why are you getting such special treatment?" she asked quietly as they stepped up to the counter.

Walter handed the woman his driver's license and credit card. "Richard had his travel coordinator call ahead and make certain arrangements so we wouldn't have to wait."

"He's sure going out of his way," Paige said casually with an arched brow. "Are you sure you don't want to tell me more about what this coding work you did for him was?"

Richard knew how important this weekend was to Walter. When the genius had asked him for the use of his plane, in lieu of payment, he told the billionaire the reason he wanted it. And, as Richard was fonder of Paige than any of the other team members, he agreed.

Walter shrugged casually. "The coding work I did would have cost him twice as much if he'd paid me for it so he insisted on having his travel coordinator make all the arrangements."

Walter insisted on making the arrangements for their accommodations, personally, but was more than happy to let Richard do everything else.

"That doesn't answer my question. What exactly did you code for him?"

Fortunately Walter was saved from answering Paige's question by the rental car agent.

"Mr. O'Brien," she said his name and he turned to focus his attention on her. "We have two options for your car, white or sliver?"

But Paige wasn't fooled by Walter's avoidance. Nonetheless, she decided to let it go for now because he clearly went to great lengths to make this trip happen and he did it for her.

"Why does the color matter?" Walter asked confused why the woman would think he cared what color their car was.

"Some customers have a preference," she said as she handed him back his license and credit card.

"It's a rental car. I don't care what color it is," he replied as he returned his cards to his wallet.

The woman looked a bit taken aback by this abrupt reply and Paige sighed. His people skills had improved over the years and sometimes were so good… but others not so much.

"We'll take the silver one," Paige said as she stepped around Walter to speak to the woman. She gave him a sharp look and he pursed his lips as the woman nodded.

"Please just sign here," she said as she slid the paperwork across the counter.

Paige signed Walter's name and slid it back to the woman. He arched a brow at her, noting how meticulously she reproduced his signature. She ignored his look as the woman handed Paige her copy of the contract.

"It will just be a few minutes to bring your car around to the front. You can wait outside those double doors."

"Thank you," Paige said as she tucked her hand into Walter's elbow and led him him away.

"When did you learn to forge my name?"

"I've known for years," she shrugged like it was no big deal. His look told her that wasn't the answer he was looking for. "When you didn't want to be bothered signing the contracts with clients, and asked me to do it, I started signing your name for you."

"Why didn't you sign your own name?" he asked curiously.

Paige pushed the glass door open and stepped out into the heat again. "Because I'm not an officer of the company."

"You sign the checks," he pointed out as they came to a stop next to the curb. He released the handle of the suitcase and felt Paige slip her hand into his. Holding her hand in public was something he was fairly comfortable with and he rubbed his thumb softly against the back of her hand.

"But you're the only one legally authorized to sign contracts," she insisted as she laughed. Why were they even having this conversation?

"Hmmm," he mused impressed with her ingenuity. "We'll have to rectify that then. You need to be able to sign in my absence."

"Why would you ever be absent? Besides, I have no problem forging _your_ name," she tossed his words back at him as she grinned. "God, the heat feels so good. Aren't you hot in that shirt?" she asked as she motioned to his standard long-sleeved oxford.

"My sleeves are rolled up so-," he replied but the look on her face stopped him midsentence. "Why do you have that look on your face?"

She looked at him wide eyed. "I'm just remembering I let you and my son pack my suitcase for me."

"And your point is?" he frowned wondering what the problem was.

"I'm just wondering exactly what I might have to wear this weekend," she said hesitantly.

"I assure you, there are adequate outfits for our destination and my plans," Walter scoffed evenly.

"What plans? Aren't we just going to relax and lie on the beach during the day and make love under the stars at night," she purred as she stepped closer to him.

He grimaced and she chuckled, stepping back again, under no illusions that either of those two things would be happening. Well… one of them wouldn't anyway. Walter believed it was a waste of time to just lie lazily in the sun and not do anything productive. He disliked the beach even though he had indulged Megan before her death by taking her there regularly because she liked it so much.

He'd also indulged Paige, a handful of times over the years, when she wanted to spend time at the beach, but he hated the feeling of sand under his feet and on his body so all he did was complain until she finally got fed up and insisted they leave.

Walter also despised when sex was described as making love. It didn't offend Paige because she knew the intimacy they shared together was making love, whether or not he was willing to use the words the describe it. He did, however, have a penchant for sex out in the open. They'd had sex on the roof of the garage, more than a handful of times, over the years. Despite his distaste for the words, he very much enjoyed the act and had a little bit of a kink for taking her out in the open, so long as they were alone and in no danger of anyone seeing them, for which the roof of the garage was perfect.

"So, did you know there is a Gauguin museum here on Tahiti," she said conversationally, changing the subject, as a swarm of people exited out the doors around them.

Walter nodded and he pursed his lips when several people bumped into him.

"Is that why you brought me here?" she asked as she switched places with him so he was further away from the exiting tourists.

Walter nodded, again, before he answered. "You love his paintings."

Those four simple words said it all. The fact that she loved Gauguin's art was all Walter needed to know. And it was all Paige needed to know, to know he loved her.

"We read about his museum years ago in my class. It's basically just a hut, you know. In fact I heard it's closed," she said quietly, as she looked at him, not wanting to put a damper on his surprise, but it wasn't like him to fail to investigate something like that in advance.

"It was," he replied as he held her gaze. "The museum was originally just a Japanese style, open air, hut connected to some other outbuildings by covered walkways. It didn't house much of Gauguin's work either. It only had some minor paintings, and some of his sculptures and carvings but that was it. It was more of a memorial to his life once he moved here and was quite disappointing to anyone who visited it. It eventually fell into disrepair and closed sometime in 2014."

Paige smiled softly as he spoke. She never should have doubted that he would have done his homework.

"In 2003, to coincide with the one hundredth anniversary of his death, the Paul Gauguin Cultural Center opened on the Marquesas Islands, which is where he spent the last 3 years of his life. It's a replica of the two story house he built for himself, which he called The House of Pleasure. With that name I suppose it's no surprise he died of a body ravaged by alcoholism and syphilis."

"You've done a lot of research on Gauguin," she mused softly with a light chuckle and Walter paused to see if she was going to say any more. He wanted to tell her it was the efficient thing to do for the plans he made but when she just smiled affectionately at him he continued.

"It's still open but the Marquesas Islands are not as popular a destination as Tahiti so it doesn't receive many visitors." Another group of tourists poured out of the doors behind Paige and she was jostled forward into Walter.

"Oh," she said as she gripped his arms to steady herself.

He gripped her hips and turned them around again so she would be out of the path of the exiting tourists before he took her hand in his again.

"Two years ago a French billionaire purchased the museum from the Tahitian government and he renovated it from the bottom up, enclosing the buildings to keep the artwork preserved and adding exterior gardens around the property. He spent over five hundred million acquiring every privately owned Gauguin painting of Tahiti that he could locate. In addition, he arranged a twenty year loan of over two dozen of Gauguin's paintings from a Russian collector as well as loans of pieces from museums around the world like the MET and the Louvre. Of the assumed sixty eight paintings Gauguin painted of Tahiti, the new museum houses forty two of them."

Paige's smile widened with anticipation. "So the museum here on Tahiti is open."

Walter shook his head and her eyes flashed with disappointment.

"The re-opening reception is tomorrow night." He brushed his thumb over the back of her hand again. "And we're going."

"But you don't like Gauguin's paintings," she breathed overwhelmed with love for the man in front of her. The man who, still, to this day claimed he had no feelings but somehow managed to show her over and over again that he did.

"I don't like any art," he stated honestly. "I've tried but I just don't see what you see in it, Paige." His eyes softened as he looked at her. "But you love it and it makes you happy. And I'll do anything to make you happy."

She hiccupped softly and stepped closer, slipping her fingers out of his as she lifted both of her hands to his face. He tilted his head back with his eyes wide.

"Are you going to kiss me out in the open here at the airport?" he asked in a horrified tone.

A delighted chuckled escaped her lips. "Yes I am. So brace yourself."

Her fingers slid over his cheeks gently and around to the back of his head where her fingers laced together through his short curls.

He looked at her and his hands instictively lifted to rest on her hips, his fingers flexing as anxiety poured off him in waves. He released a long breath. "Okay," he muttered, drawing the word out, as he exhaled and he looked like he was trying to psyche himself up for what was to come.

And in that moment, although she didn't think it was possible, Paige Dineen fell a little more in love with Walter O'Brien.

The kiss was brief and chaste, but the second her lips touched his, Walter's fingers flexed again and pressed into her hips as he automatically clutched her closer.

Paige sighed happily as she pulled away and was pleased to see disappointment flash across his face just as a sliver convertible pulled up beside them. She stepped back and Walter's lips curved down into a frown.

"Your hotel is programmed into the GPS," the driver said as he handed Walter the keys and held the passenger door open, so Paige could get in, as Walter put their luggage in the trunk.

Walter climbed into the driver's seat and fastened his seatbelt before looking over at her. He held his hand out to her.

"You ready?"

"What did I say on the plane?" she teased as she slipped her hand into his again. She lifted their joined hands to her lips and brushed her lips over his palm.

Walter's eyes darkened as she reminded him of her teasing barely thirty minutes earlier.

"You shouldn't tease a genius, Paige. Don't you know that by now?"

Paige let out an amused chuckle but didn't answer him as she settled back in her seat, ready for whatever adventure he had planned.

#############

They arrived at the Le Méridien Tahiti less than fifteen minutes later. In that time Walter planned half a dozen different ways to have Paige naked and beneath him before dinner. It was just after three in the afternoon local time and that would give them a good three hours before the reservations he'd made for dinner.

Paige was unaware of his decadent plans for her as she fiddled with the radio trying to find some music that she knew Walter could tolerate. He pulled up in front of the resort and handed the car over to the valet before he led Paige into the lobby.

"Oh, Walter, this place is breathtaking," she gushed as she looked around the luxurious lobby toward the open air restaurant and ocean side bar toward the back. She walked across the lobby to the large tropical fish tank in the center and looked at the fish, thinking that Ralph would have loved it.

"Welcome to the Le Méridien Tahiti," the man at the check-in desk greeted as Walter walked up. He gave his name and reservation number, along with his passport and credit card, to the man as Paige strolled over to him smiling.

"Ralph would love that fish tank."

Walter asked her for her passport and gave it to the clerk before he responded. "He would find it illogical to trap those fish in a tank when the ocean, which is their natural habitat, is less than thirty feet away," Walter said before he could stop himself.

"Well if you'd gone over and looked at it with me, you'd see that the tank is open to the floor below it, to the ocean floor to be exact. The fish can come in and out freely," Paige responded with soft shake of her head. Sometimes he was just such a killjoy.

"Then what is the point of the tank?" He shrugged and turned his attention back to the clerk who was speaking to him.

"Per your request, Mr. O'Brien, you are in the overwater bungalow at the far end of the dock. That will afford you maximum privacy."

"What's an overwater bungalow?" Paige asked curiously.

The clerk smiled at her before pointing through the dining room to the exterior of the resort beyond it.

"Do you see those bungalows all along the length of those docks? Those are the resort's luxury accommodations. You'll find them to your satisfaction, I assure you, Miss Dineen."

He handed Walter their passports and Walter slipped them both into his pocket.

"Aisake will escort you to your bungalow. Kike will follow with your luggage," the clerk said as he pointed out the other young Polynesian man who had just walked up with their luggage from the car. "Enjoy your stay."

The man handed Walter the keycard for their bungalow and they followed Aisake through the lobby and across the back deck to the docks just beyond.

Paige slipped her hand through Walter's elbow but he kept his hands in his pockets as they walked. It was the only way to keep from reaching for her, which is what he was suddenly dying to do.

"My god, Walter, what have you done?" Paige asked as she realized the thatched roof, overwater bungalows were on pylons that rose up out of the clear blue water. Each one had three hundred and sixty degrees of deck and terrace wrapped around the bungalow with uninhibited views of the resort on one side and the open ocean on the other.

"I thought you would like it," Walter said, his brow furrowed, as he slowed their pace slightly so they could speak privately.

"I do," she assured with a smile and then she bit her lip hesitantly. "It just must cost a fortune."

"Paige, don't ruin this by obsessing over the money," he said evenly. They'd argued in the past about the amount of money he spent on things for her and Ralph. Those arguments never ended well for him because he almost always lost them. But she couldn't understand that money meant nothing to him. It typically meant nothing to geniuses, but him particularly. It was a means to an end for him and if doing something with it made her happy then he didn't think twice about it.

Paige looked at him for a long moment before nodding her head, not wanting to appear ungrateful for all he'd done to surprise her this weekend. But she slipped her hand out of his elbow and walked ahead of him. He sighed and followed behind her silently for the several minutes it took to reach the bungalow at the farthest end of the dock.

"I will be your personal attendant for the time you are here," Aisake said as he opened the door and allowed Paige and Walter to enter before him. Paige gasped as she took in the luxurious space. The room featured woven palm walls, timber floors, a canopy bed, and a Polynesian style bathroom with open views to the reef. In the center of the room, there was a glass floor and, as Paige walked over it, she saw a coral garden beneath with more of the tropical fish she'd seen in the lobby, swimming freely and leisurely throughout it.

"If there is anything you need, don't hesitate to hit number one on the phone and it will connect you with me," Aisake said as he motioned for Kike to place their suitcases on the foot board at the end of the bed.

"Thank you," Walter said and Paige's lips curved, glad his people skills seemed to be coming back, at least a little, before she walked through the French doors and out onto the back terrace.

She leaned on the railing as Walter finished with Aisake and Kike and just took in the view of the bluest water she'd ever seen.

A minute later Walter walked up behind her. "Are you upset with me?"

She smiled softly before she turned and hurled herself at him, sliding her arms over his shoulders as she pressed her lips to his. Walter stumbled backwards as he caught her, shocked by her assault, but he quickly recovered as he wrapped his arms around her and clutched her closer. He opened his mouth when her tongue traced along the seam of his lips seeking entrance. She moaned softly as her fingers slid into his hair and she kept urging and pushing him backwards until they stumbled through the French doors.

Paige's hands frantically tugged on Walter's shirt, removing it from the waistband of his pants as she fumbled with the buttons. Their kisses were desperate and frantic and Walter groaned her name as she gave up on his shirt and dropped her hands so one could tug on the button of his pants, while the fingers of her other deftly lowered the zipper.

Walter grunted into her mouth as the back of his legs hit the bed. She pushed him down onto the mattress and grabbed the waistband of his pants, tugging them impatiently down over his hips.

"Paige," he gasped as he pushed up on his elbows and looked down at her while simultaneously lifting his hips to assist her as she stripped him naked.

It took a minute or so of struggling as he kicked off his shoes before she could yank the offending fabric off his legs and toss it away.

He reached for her but she just slapped his hand away and shook her head.

His eyes darkened in response as he watched her drop to her knees on the wood floor and her dark eyes met his. He knew her intentions, instantly, and the look she gave him shot right through him as his body reacted instantaneously.

When they'd first started engaging in sexual intercourse, Walter refrained from letting her perform fellatio on him. It wasn't that he didn't want it or he didn't like it. He'd allowed all the women he was with previously perform it on him quite readily. And Walter had absolutely no qualms about putting his mouth on Paige. A lot. In fact, whether it was a result of her enthusiastic response to it or the intensity of his feelings for her, Walter found he, willingly, spent quite a bit of time with his head between her thighs. But there was something about the notion of having her on her knees for him reminded him of the escorts he'd been with and the very little regard he had for them as he only used them for his own personal pleasure.

And for once in his life, Walter's eidetic memory was his downfall.

It took Paige over a month to convince him to tell her why he didn't want it, and then another two before she convinced him that there was nothing disrespectful about it, that she _wanted_ to reciprocate and she would absolutely enjoy it. When she finally convinced him to let her pleasure him that way, Walter, literally, thought his head was going to pop off.

Now he never stopped her. He never stopped her from anything she wanted. In truth, Walter O'Brien was a bit of a control freak, but the one person, he freely gave up control to, was the beautiful woman who was currently licking her lips above his very painfully, aroused body.

She smiled at him and pressed one soft hand on his stomach as she wrapped the other around his shaft and stroked him from base to tip.

"Paige," he said her name again in a strangled tone as she pushed his shirt up and then lowered her mouth to him. As her smooth lips wrapped around him, Walter's head fell back and his eyes rolled back in his head. Her hot mouth surrounded him and he bucked his hips as his body surged, lengthening and hardening even more.

He reached down and his fingers slid into the soft strands of her hair. This was not what he planned on the drive to the resort but he couldn't seem to form even one coherent thought as her tongue swirled and flicked over his aching flesh. His fingers curled into her hair and he fought to keep his hips still as her mouth rose and lowered over him.

Paige slid her hand from his stomach down to wrap around the base of him as the other slid up and down his hard flesh, tugging firmly as she bobbed her head. She repeated the motion slowly, taking him deep, then sliding back up and swirling her tongue around the head, before plunging down and encompassing as much of him as she could take in her mouth again.

Walter choked out her name again, the sound guttural and deep, and his thighs shook from the effort to hold back. She tightened her lips around him, sucking harder, as her tongue flicked against the underside, just below his head, and that was always what did it.

Walter's body jerked and he groaned as his hips lifted off the mattress. Paige gagged a little at his head hit the back of her throat, but as she felt him twitch and throb against her tongue she tightened her lips again, hollowing out her cheeks as she sucked him harder.

Walter's entire body shuddered with pleasure as his orgasm tore through him. He tightened his fingers in her hair and his shaft pulsed between her lips as his seed erupted from his tip and filled her mouth.

She swallowed quickly, breathing through her nose, as she waited for him to cease pulsing. Walter panted harshly above her and she could feel the rise and fall of his body as he continued to shudder in the aftermath. Paige loosened her lips and reached up to remove his hands from where they were still gripping her hair as she released him from her mouth. As she stood on shaky legs, feeling her knees crack, she made one last swirl of her tongue over his still twitching head, and his entire body jerk in response.

She pressed her lips to his pelvis and let her lips ghost over the still quivering muscles of his abdomen.

"Holy hell, Paige. What was that?" he gasped and panted as she slowly made her way up his body.

Her lips brushed over his stomach and she smiled, murmuring, "That was thank you."

Her fingers slipped the buttons of his shirt through the holes and her lips followed the path behind her hands as inch by inch his shirt opened revealing his still heaving chest.

Her lips continued their ascent up his body and she crawled onto the bed, straddling his legs. His hands gripped her thighs and sank into the soft flesh and she smiled against his skin as she reached his neck. Paige pressed down on him as she kissed the hollow of his throat and his arms wrapped around her as he rolled them so she was on her back beneath him. He took her lips in a slow deep kiss.

Paige arched her back beneath him and his hand tugged her shirt out of the waistband of her pants and slid up under her shirt. He cupped her breast over the lace of her bra, as his thumb brushed over the protruding nipple in the center. He had it, along with the rest of her clothes, off her in a matter of minutes, and had her moaning and mewling and trembling beneath him just as quickly.

And when his body had recovered enough he sank into her and thanked her right back.

###########

Several hours later, they'd missed their dinner reservations but neither of them cared. However, they were both extremely hungry so they decided to venture out and see if one of the restaurants would sit them for a late supper.

After separate showers, because they knew they'd never make it out of the room if they shared one, Paige stood in front of her suitcase, wrapped in a towel, with a wary look on her face.

Walter was already dressed and sitting on the sofa across the room as he tried to connect his tablet to the Wi-Fi so he could check the hours of the Botanical Gardens that were across from the Gauguin museum. Paige wanted to visit them the next day before they attended the museum's opening.

"Why are you looking at your luggage like it might bite you?" he asked when he noticed her in his periphery.

"I really am worried about what I might find in there."

"Well, the only way to face your fears is to just jump right in there, or so I've been told," he said with a wry smirk and she shook her head and shot him narrow glare, which only made his smirk widen. He was still a man who didn't, as a general rule, feel fear and Paige wished she had something handy to throw at him for being a wise ass.

Instead, Paige unzipped her suitcase and looked inside. To her relief there were several tropical climate outfits including shorts and summer dresses, casual short sleeve and sleeveless tops and sandals. Ralph must have pulled her summer bins out of the closet and picked out the outfits he'd seen her wearing most often. But the majority of what filled the suitcase was from one particular drawer of hers and Paige chuckled softly.

"What's so funny?" Walter asked absently as he focused on his task. "Did we not pack the right things?"

She looked over at him and smiled. "Actually the two of you did well. But there is more lingerie in here than actual clothes.

He looked up at her with a sheepish grin. "Uh, yeah, that was me. I wasn't sure what you'd want so I just pretty much dumped the entire drawer in there."

"I can see that," she chucked again as she sifted through the silk and lace until she found a pair of black panties. She dropped her towel and slipped them up her legs.

Her actions did not go unnoticed by Walter but he kept his focus on his task, otherwise they weren't going to make it out of this bungalow at all tonight.

"I hope you did it after Ralph had packed his part of it," she added as she slid a floral skirt up her legs. "It's a little creepy to think of my son seeing all my underwear."

Walter snorted softly and then he pursed his lips because it _was_ a little creepy, probably more so for the young boy than Paige. No teenage boy wanted to see his mother's underwear, especially if it was sexy lingerie, although, truth-be-told, that was really all that Paige owned. Not that Walter minded one bit.

And speaking of….

"You don't mind Ferret Bueller seeing your underwear," he said as the Wi-Fi connected and he quickly brought up the site for the botanical gardens. "You let him sleep in your drawer, in fact."

"I don't let him," Paige retorted as she slipped a matching bra on and then pulled a peach blouse on over it. "I can't help that he knows how to open drawers."

"But that's the only drawer he sleeps in," Walter said trying to make a point as he noted the hours for the botanical gardens.

"Actually he sleeps in your underwear drawer more often than mine. You just never catch him."

"Eww." Walter grimaced and Paige laughed.

"Please tell me you packed me something to wear to this reception tomorrow night. How fancy is it?" she asked as she dug a little deeper into the suitcase.

"It's not black tie, thank goodness," Walter said as he tossed the tablet onto the sofa and stood up.

"What are you wearing?" she asked and he grimaced again.

"I have a suit."

She laughed again at the disgusted tone of his voice. He hated wearing suits.

"There are a couple of dresses in there, under all the lingerie," Walter said as he grinned unrepentantly at the mention of all her unmentionables.

At the very bottom of the suitcase she found and pulled out a short black cocktail dress and a mid-length, chiffon, cream one.

"These are both nice."

"You can thank Happy for that," Walter shrugged and he slipped his hands into his pockets as he walked over to her. "We had to seek her assistance with those choices. Are they okay?"

She nodded her head, impressed with Happy's options. "Yes. But why do I need two of them?"

He hesitated a moment, debating how to reply. He decided the best course of action was the truth.

"Because tomorrow night is only my second surprise for you. You'll need a dress for Sunday night too."

She lifted her brow as delight filled her eyes.

"What is that look for?" he asked her for the second time in ten minutes.

"I'm just surprised," she replied as she reached over and rubbed her fingers against his forearm below the, once again, rolled up sleeves of his button down.

"Why is the concept of surprise so difficult for you?" he pursed his lips and she could see the genuine perplexity on his face.

"I'm just not used to it," she answered honestly with a soft smile to let him know she wasn't complaining.

His frown deepened before he replied seriously. "Yes, I know I do lack the spontaneity and skill of being romantic, usually. But I try."

"I know you do," Paige stepped closer to him and pressed a kiss to his cheek. "And I wouldn't have you any other way, Walter," she added as she reached up and rubbed her lipstick from his skin.

He seemed pacified with her response and she gave in to temptation and pulled his mouth down to hers. "I love you," she whispered against his lips as his arms came around her.

"I know," he murmured as his hands slid down and he pressed his fingers into her ass, holding her against him. "Now let's go before they stop serving food and we have to starve all night."

To be Continued...

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Thanks again for reading and leave a review it you enjoyed it.


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: I still don't own anything Scorpion but I sure could have a lot of then with them if I did.

I know I probably don't need to say it any longer but mature content ahead. I think I forgot to put that warning on the last chapter though….. ooops.

Thanks, as always, to everyone for reading and reviewing and following. It makes my heart happy.

Texts are in _italics._

Enjoy!

* * *

 **Gauguin – Chapter 3**

The following evening Walter guided Paige through the crowded gallery with a hand on the small of her back as the other yanked at the knot of his tie, again.

"Stop pulling on it," Paige murmured as she saw him tugging it away from his neck. He'd stopped wearing ties, for the most part, years ago, although he did still wear them, from time to time, depending on the client. But when he did, he always wore his ties loosely around his neck, keeping his top button open. But Paige insisted he keep his shirt and tie together and tonight was for her so he did as he was told. But he couldn't help the constant urge to tug on what felt like a noose around his neck.

When they were dressing for the reception, she'd been delighted when he slid her favorite red tie around his neck. It was the tie she told him was a good color on him when they were trying to flush out Sima and her nerve gas. It had instantly become his favorite tie, as well, once he knew she liked it on him, and he wore it whenever they attended any kind of special function. She had been so pleased earlier, in fact, that they were almost late for the opening reception. But one thing Paige had taught him, over the years, was the benefits and merits of a _quickie_.

She stopped and turned to face him, reaching up and straightening the tie again. "If you just leave it alone for an hour, then we can go and you can take it off." She leaned forward and whispered against his ear. "In fact, if you're very good I might just be willing to wear _nothing_ but that tie later."

 _Every_ part of Walter's body stiffened and he quickly schooled his features as the image of Paige standing under the moonlight, on their private terrace, wearing only his favorite tie flooded his brain. He swallowed reflexively, feeling like he swallowed his tongue, and silently congratulated himself for his forethought of choosing that private bungalow at the end of the dock.

Paige's lips curved against his skin and she released a breathy laugh as she pulled back. "You are so easy."

"And you're a tease," he growled under his breath and his hands gripped her hips as his fingers flexed.

She laughed again and winked at him and he sighed before grasping her hand and squeezing it gently. "I'll just go sit over there while you look around," he said as he pointed at a padded bench toward the other end of the room.

"You're not going to walk around with me?" she asked as she blinked.

"Uh," his brow furrowed and he pursed his lips as he dragged the next seven words out slowly. "I… will… if… you… want… me… to..."

Paige snorted at his half-hearted attempt to appease her and she patted his cheek gently. "That's okay, Walter. You bringing me here is enough of an effort, outside your comfort zone, for one day."

And he had made quite an effort that day, indulging her in her desire to tour the botanical gardens. He let her drag him around looking at all the plants even though she could tell it was incredibly boring for him; although he did seem to enjoy enlightening her on the medicinal purposes of many of the different tropical plants.

"You're never too much effort," Walter replied seriously as his eyes met hers and her lips curved into a soft smile.

Walter may not be a romantic man, in the traditional sense, but the facts and truth he spoke, without hesitation, were often more romantic than if he'd tried and, very likely, fumbled with the pretty words most women wanted to hear. And while another woman may look at him and wonder what exactly he meant by what he'd just said, would read a dozen different meanings into a statement like that, Paige didn't. She took it at face value, because that's how Walter meant it, and she knew it was another way of telling her he loved her.

And like she said to him earlier, she wouldn't want him any other way. People could lie and speak half truths and give bending compliments but if there was one thing in the world Paige was sure of, Walter wasn't one of them. Sure, sometimes he was vague and avoided answering her. And there were times he blatantly kept the truth from her, like this trip, but it wasn't because he was dishonest. He was just human. And he was one of the most genuine humans she had ever known.

Paige could see, in his eyes that her statement bothered him so she stepped closer and rested both her hands on his chest. "I just meant that I know you don't enjoy this kind of thing and I love you for enduring it for me. _But_ you don't need to walk around and see every painting with me; just you being here is enough. Now go sit on that bench while I finally see these amazing masterpieces up close."

"Are you sure?" he asked prepared to endure accompanying her but secretly hoping she would decline.

"Yes, Walter. I'm sure," she assured him as she laughed at the hopeful look on his face.

Before she changed her mind, Walter brought her hand to his lips and in an, uncharacteristic, _public_ display of affection he pressed a soft kiss to her palm. The smile that lit her face in response caused the rest of the room to, momentarily, vanish for him. Until the sound of his name brought him back.

"Walter, go take a load off."

"I'll be right over there," he said quickly as he dropped her hand and pointed to the bench.

"Okay," she chuckled as he turned and strode through the crowd.

###############

Almost an hour later, Walter caught sight of Paige, again, as she walked back into the gallery from the adjoining building. She had viewed all the paintings on one side of the room and then walked into the adjacent room, where more of the paintings were housed. He could see she was enjoying herself, even without him beside her, or perhaps because he wasn't beside her; but she would periodically look over at him and smile, simultaneously, letting him know she was good while checking to make sure he was as well.

He passed the time, first by watching Paige, until she moved into the other room, then by people watching the other guests, which very quickly turned boring, and then, finally, playing brain teaser games on his phone. They were all pitifully simple and he almost tossed his phone away in frustration at least a half a dozen time.

Once Paige was back in his line of sight, he watched her slowly make her way around the opposite side of the room, stopping in front of each painting and studying it before moving on to the next one. The black dress she wore clung to her curves but in a very lovely and classy way.

Simply put, she looked beautiful.

Walter smiled to himself as he observed that she seemed to spend more time in front of the nudes. Almost all of Gauguin's Tahitian portraits were nudes and Walter wondered if that was what she loved so much about his work. And she accused _him_ of being obsessed with breasts. He chuckled to himself and made a mental note to both ask and tease her about it later.

As Paige stopped in front of _Two Tahitian Women_ , one of Gauguin's more famous portraits, which was on loan from the MET in New York, Walter felt his phone vibrate in his pocket.

He slipped it out and saw a text from Ralph.

 _Did she like her surprise?_

 _She was delighted_ , Walter typed back. _We're at the museum now and her smile hasn't left her lips all night._

 _Told ya she'd love it._

 _Yeah. Yeah._

Walter looked up and he noticed a man talking to Paige. She was smiling at him as she laughed at something he said.

Walter had experienced jealousy, early in their relationship, when he was insecure in his ability to be the man she needed and wanted. But as the years passed, so did his insecurity, as she showed him time and time again that she only wanted him. He knew he wasn't near good enough for her but as long as she wanted him, he was unequivocally hers.

His phone buzzed in his hand again and he looked down.

 _What about your second surprise?_

Walter's palms started to sweat at the question.

 _Not yet. Soon,_ he typed quickly before looking back toward Paige.

Walter frowned when he noticed the guy attempt to put his hand on Paige's arm for a second time. But then his lips curved up when he saw her raise her eyebrow, and since he could read lips, Walter chuckled darkly because she was telling him in her polite, diplomatic, way not to touch her uninvited again. He looked down at his phone again when another text came through.

 _Walter, Toby said you better not chicken out._

 _Tell Toby to mind his own business,"_ Walter typed as he stood up. _"Now I have to go and save your mom from a creep who is hitting on her. See you soon buddy._

His phone buzzed again before he could put it in his pocket.

 _Don't punch him. She hates it when you punch guys that hit on her._

Walter scowled down at his phone.

 _I haven't done that in over three years._

 _Yeah, but my mom has a long memory. Bye Walter._

Walter couldn't argue with that. Paige did have an incredible memory, especially when it came to his screw ups. But he had no intention of punching the guy. He wouldn't ruin her night by being a macho jerk, as she'd once called him when he punched a guy who was hitting on her in a bar.

However, he did intend to make his presence known, claim what was his, and then leave the reception. It had been more than the hour she promised he had to endure this noose around his neck and he intended to hold her to her promise. He started toward her but at the last minute he took a right through the archway instead.

Paige clenched her teeth as she twisted out of arm's reach of the man who had, at first, seemed charming but was now bordering on harassing.

"Harry, I'm flattered but I told you I'm here with my boyfriend," Paige sighed and looked over toward where Walter was sitting, only to see the bench was empty now. She'd looked over a minute earlier to see him texting on his phone but she really wished he would have looked up and used that large brain of his to deduce she wanted him. Now he was gone and she might have to strangle him if he deserted her here with handsy Harry as she decided to call him.

"No man in his right mind would leave a beautiful woman like you alone with all these vultures around." His grabby hand once again touched her and she pulled her arm away as she shot him a withering look.

"Harry if I have to tell you one more time not to touch my arm-"

"Sweetheart, are you ready to go?"

Paige looked over to see Walter approaching from behind Harry and the man jumped at the sudden sound of a deep voice so close behind him. Paige gave him a strange look but Walter just smiled the awkward, stiff, fake smile, that made his face look like he was constipated, as he stepped around the man and held his hand out to her.

"More than ready," she said as she took it and brushed her thumb gently over the back of his hand.

Walter's smile slipped as he looked over at the man standing across from her, and his withering glare beat Paige's by a mile. He slid his arm possessively around her waist.

"If you'll excuse us," he said without introducing himself before he led her away.

Paige's lips twitched with amusement. "You have never, once in your life, called me sweetheart."

"Do you prefer honey?" he smirked as they walked through the front door and into the warm night. "Or how about kitten?" he teased as he handed the valet his ticket.

She shook her head and laughed softly. "Terms of endearment are not your forte, Walter. Do us both a favor and just call me by my name."

He lowered his lips to graze against her ear. "When I was growing up my father would call my mother _love_. I've always wondered how it would sound to say it to you."

Paige turned her head to look at him and saw his eyes were serious. There was no teasing in them now, but like the previous day they were interrupted by the arrival of their car before she could respond.

############

Walter held the glass door open so Paige could walk through to the terrace on their way back to their bungalow. He hesitated when they reached the end of the patio and Paige took it as an opportunity to grasp his arm and use it for balance and she slipped her heels off.

"God my feet are killing me."

Walter debated his next move as Paige hooked the back of her shoes over her fingers. They could turn left to the dock that led to their bungalow or they could turn right onto the resort's private beach. As Paige started to turn left, Walter reached for her hand.

"Are you tired?" he asked.

Paige slipped her fingers through his and shook her head. "Not really. Why?"

He reached up and scratched the back of his neck, suddenly very anxious, and he pursed his lips.

"Walter?" she inquired softly as she tilted her head.

"It's… it's a lovely night. I thought it might be enjoyable to take a walk on the beach before we go back to our bungalow."

Paige regarded him curiously for a few seconds, as romantic moonlit walks were not something he would normally suggest, unless there was some kind of celestial activity occurring. And even then there was usually nothing romantic about it because Ralph would normally accompany them. She was seeing a side to Walter, on this trip, that intrigued her, and since she _was_ the type to enjoy romantic moonlit walks, she nodded.

"I'd like that. But I'm leaving my shoes here," she added as she dropped her heels onto the bottom step of the terrace.

"What if someone takes them?" he asked logically and Paige looked around at the almost completely deserted terrace and chuckled.

"I don't think there is too much danger of that. Besides they hurt my feet so I'm probably just going to trash them anyway."

"Well that would just be a waste of money; to throw away a perfectly good pair of shoes," he said as he stepped onto the bottom step.

Paige shrugged. "You try wearing heels once in a while and then you tell me how much you'd want to keep a pair that starts giving you blisters after only three hours."

"If I wore heels once in a while we would probably have a very different relationship," he smirked and Paige snorted out a short laugh.

"Not necessarily," Paige teased as her eyes gave him the once over. "You happen to have great legs, Walter. I bet you'd look sexy as hell in heels."

By the time she finished her sentence the laugh she was trying to keep in came tumbling out of her.

"Okay, this conversation has come to its conclusion." Walter shot her a droll look and Paige leaned forward to kiss the corner of his mouth.

"You might want to leave your shoes behind too," she suggested as she dug her toes into the sand. Unlike Walter she enjoyed the feeling of it.

He looked down at his feet and then back up at her. "Why would I do that?"

"Because you're going to get sand in them while we walk," she replied as if it were both logical and obvious.

Walter shrugged because she was right. And since he, suddenly, wanted to delay at the moment, he sat on a nearby chair and rolled the hem of his pants up before removing his socks and shoes and setting them next to her heels.

"I hope no one takes them because, unlike yours, my shoes are very comfortable."

Paige laughed lightly at his worried tone and tugged on his hands to help him stand.

"Walter, you have a dozen identical pairs at home."

She slipped her hand into his tugging him down the steps and onto the sand.

"That doesn't mean I want them stolen," he replied as he cringed at the feel of the sand beneath his feet. But he let her pull him along toward the water, nonetheless.

Paige stopped and pressed a kiss against the corner of his mouth, again, before beginning to walk again.

"Why did you do that?" he asked although he wasn't complaining.

"I felt like it," she shrugged and squeezed his hand gently.

He smiled but didn't press further for a better answer. If she felt like kissing him who was he to complain?

They walked in silence for a few minutes and the surf gently lapping at the sand was the only sound until Walter spoke again.

"Did you enjoy yourself tonight?" he asked in a hopeful tone.

"Yes," she gushed happily as she looked over at him. "This was the most amazing thing anyone has ever done for me, Walter. Thank you for tonight. Thank you for all of this," she added as she motioned to their surroundings.

"You're welcome, love," he said testing out the endearment for the first time. "That didn't sound awkward really," he added as he looked over at her with a questioning smile.

She smiled softly in return. "It sounded nice, actually. But you don't have to change what you call me, Walter."

He stopped walking and tugged on her hand gently, urging her to stop with him. "What if I want to?" he asked as he reached up and scratched the back of his head uncertainly. "What if I want things to change?"

"I don't understand," she said as she tried to gauge the change in his mood. They had reached the edge of an outcropping of rocks that led to a small jetty and he released her hand and started pacing along the edge of the surf. "Walter, stop pacing and talk to me. What's going on?"

"I don't know how to do this," he said with disappointment coloring his tone and Paige could see he was internally berating himself the way he often did when he didn't know how to do something.

"Do what?" she asked as she reached for his hand again but he just pulled it away and shoved it into his pocket.

"Can you just sit for a second and let me think. I need to get my bearings."

She narrowed her eyes at him but she could see a thin film sweat forming on his forehead in the moonlight. Granted they were in the tropics, but he hadn't been sweating all night, despite the suit he was wearing. So she, silently, did as he asked, deciding not to call him out for basically telling her, in so many words, to shut up and sit down.

She watched him intently, her brow furrowing as he muttered to himself. He hadn't done that since Megan died and it worried her.

"Walter, talk to me," she said softly in the tone she used when she wanted to soothe him. "What happened just now? Why are you so agitated?"

"I just don't get it," he said to himself, oblivious to her question, as he shook his head in frustration. "I don't understand why two people who love each other can't just make the mutual decision to get married. Why does one of them have to get down on one knee and make a spectacle of themselves?"

Paige gasped softly as his words registered.

And her gasp registered with him and he stopped pacing but didn't look in her direction. "Oh, did I say that out loud?"

She nodded her head, even though he wasn't looking at her, but found she couldn't speak.

He saw her nodding in his periphery and he reached up and tugged angrily on the short strands of his hair. "Damn it. I've ruined everything now."

"Walt-," she started to say his name but he interrupted her.

"I can fix this. I've rehearsed this for weeks." Walter inhaled a deep breath and turned to her as he pulled a small velvet box out of his pocket. Paige's eyes widened as he flipped open the top, revealing a sparkling diamond nestled inside.

Walter swallowed thickly as he looked at her, waiting for her to look up from the box in his hand. When she did her eyes were a mixture of confusion and hope and something else he couldn't describe. He removed the ring from the box and inhaled a deep breath before he slowly lowered himself down on one knee.

"Paige Dineen, will you…," he swallowed as he stuttered softly. She was the only person who ever made him stutter and Walter cursed himself for being so nervous. "Will...will you marry me?"

Paige looked at him and her lower lip quivered before she bit it and inhaled a shuddering breath. "Why?" she asked in barely a whisper.

Walter blinked in surprise as he lowered his other knee to the ground and sat back on his heels. "Oh…um… well, that wasn't the response I was expecting."

"I'm not saying no, Walter," she said as she tilted her head. "I'd just like to know why you want to marry me."

"I would think that would be obvious," he replied his face a mask of confusion.

"Nothing with you is obvious, Walter," she replied softly and held her hand out to him. "Do you want to sit beside me while we talk about this?"

"I'm fine where I am," he said sullenly as he looked down at the ring in his hand and then back up at her. "I don't understand. Don't you want to marry me?"

She dropped her hand as he refused to take it. "I'll answer that after you answer my question."

He pursed his lips. "I'm not sure what answer you are looking for, Paige."

She sighed softly and she could see the true bewilderment in his eyes as he wracked his brain to figure out just exactly what she was asking him. "Okay, let's do it this way. I thought you didn't believe in marriage."

He'd told her years ago, before they'd ever gotten together, that he didn't believe in marriage. But he'd also told her that the existence of romantic love was a fairy tale and clearly he changed his mind about that.

"In theory I don't," he answered honestly even as he avoided her gaze. "As an institution I don't see the point of it but I recognize the desire people have to commit their lives to each other. Although I don't think commitment is contingent upon the existence of a piece of paper."

"Then why did you propose to me?" she asked again gently. "I thought everything was good. Are you unhappy with the way things are between us?"

"No, of course I'm not," he scoffed and then softened his tone when he realized how it must sound. "I've never been happier in my life," he added truthfully as he slid his eyes back to hers.

"Then where did this come from?" she asked curiously as her heart hammered in her chest. "This is all so out of the blue."

"This isn't all out of the blue," he insisted as he twirled the suddenly heavy ring between his fingers. "I've been planning this for half a year."

"Six months?" Paige gasped softly taken slightly aback.

"Yes," he nodded his head. He paused for a few seconds before he continued, deciding he had nothing to lose. "I spoke to Ralph last fall, while we were on our trip to Oxford for that biophysics conference. I told him my intentions and asked him if he would mind if I married you." Something inside Paige melted at Walter's confession and she almost missed his next words. "He was pleased with the idea of us becoming a legal family even though we are one already, for all intents and purposes."

"Yes, we are," Paige agreed as she wrung her fingers together, mainly to keep herself from reaching out and grasping him.

Walter looked down, again, at the diamond ring still clutched between his fingers. "He even helped me design your ring."

Paige's eyes widened slightly as she looked down at it and then back up at Walter's face. "You designed it yourself?"

"Yes," he said as his brow furrowed and he held the ring out to her, encouraging her to take it from his fingers. "Ralph and I designed it, I bought the uncut diamond and platinum individually, and Happy forged the ring based on our specifications. I was going to buy white gold but was quickly informed that platinum was a more valuable and enduring metal and more widely used, these days, in engagement rings and wedding bands."

Paige reached out a shaking hand and took the ring from him, bringing it closer to her face so she could see it, although it was challenging in just the moonlight and the resort lights in the distance.

"It's an emerald cut diamond," Walter continued to speak almost afraid if he stopped it would give her an opportunity to turn him down. She, technically, hadn't said no yet and if he could just get her to understand maybe she would want to marry him. "I overheard you say something to Happy about your preference for emerald cuts when we were on that case with the jewel thieves last summer."

The diamond was flawless as far as Paige could tell, as it sat nestled in the setting with smaller clusters of diamonds flanking it on either side.

"It's only three quarters of a carat because I know you don't like wearing large jewelry. The design carved around the band is the traditional Celtic Claddagh which stands for love, friendship and loyalty; everything I feel for you."

"Walter it's beautiful," she breathed as the diamond twinkled in the moonlight. "When you said you had another surprise for me this weekend, this didn't even enter my mind," she admitted honestly.

"Hasn't the thought of marriage crossed your mind, Paige?"

"Honestly, no," she answered truthfully and it broke her heart to see the confusion and uncertainty, once again, fill his eyes. "I just assumed we would continue as we have indefinitely."

Walter sighed and bit his bottom lip as he processed her answer. He gripped fistfuls of sand in his hands and squeezed them, letting the gritty grains scrape against his palms. If he focused on that he could ignore the uncomfortable throbbing in his chest. "Is that what you want then? Would you rather not marry me?"

"That's not what I'm saying, Walter," she said with a shake of her head. "But marriage changes things. I love our life and what we have together. I don't want you to feel that anything has to change."

"Marrying you is not going to change anything for me," he replied simply and honestly. "It's not going to change how I feel about you. It's not going to change my commitment to you, nor my intention to spend the rest of my life with you." Paige's eyes softened and she held her breath as he continued to speak. "I don't need a legal document to prove who you are to me. And I don't want to marry you because I feel the need to legally connect our lives. You, and Ralph, are already listed as next of kin in my will. If I die tomorrow everything I have is yours."

Paige stilled, stunned by his revelation. He'd never told her about his will.

Walter took her momentary distraction to shift closer to her on his knees before he _finally_ answered her question.

"I want to marry you, Paige, because I never want you to question who you are to me or how I feel about you," he said as he caught her gaze again, hoping she could see the truth in his eyes. "I'll never be a man who is comfortable expressing his emotions, particularly in the presence of others. And I'll never be a man who says the words easily so I will never wax poetic about the depth of my feelings for you." Paige's lips curved slightly in response to his words as she hooked the ring around the tip of her index finger. "But I am a man who will do anything and everything in his power to make you happy and keep you safe." Walter paused for a second before he added, "And I am a man who loves you and who will love you until my last breath."

"But that doesn't require marriage," she said quietly, not sure why she was pressing the issue but she needed him to be sure because this would change everything and there was no going back from this for either of them.

"No it doesn't," Walter agreed. "But I know marriage means something to you. And anything that means something to you is important to….oomph."

Unable to hold herself back any longer, Paige hurled herself at him and fused her lips to his before he could get his last words out. The force of her momentum sent him tumbling onto his back. He wrapped his arms around her and he gasped as the wind was knocked out of him. Paige took the opportunity to slip her tongue between his lips as she sought to deepen the kiss. Walter granted her the access she sought moaning as the taste of her hit his tongue.

Paige thrust her fingers into his hair and scratched his scalp gently as their kiss lengthened and deepened. Walter felt his body react to the feel of her writhing on top of him and he heard her as she moaned softly into his mouth before tearing her lips away and gasping for breath.

She peppered soft kisses over his face as she chanted, "Yes, yes, yes!"

Her proximity on top of him as well as the sensation of her lips caressing his skin clouded his mind, as it always did, and he growled lowly against the skin just beneath her chin.

"Y..y..yes, what?" he stuttered and Paige released a short breathy laugh at his question, knowing exactly the affect she was having on him.

She lifted her head and looked down at him, waiting patiently as she watched his face scrunch up a little in confusion before he opened his eyes.

"Yes, I'll marry you Walter," Paige breathed as she smiled.

Walter's lips spread into a wide smile and she saw the relief fill his eyes. He pulled her lips to his again and he kissed her long and soft and deep until she melted on top of him.

When their lips parted she buried her face in his neck and she released a shuddering breath. He turned his face and pressed his lips against the shell of her ear.

"I know I don't tell you as often as I should. Or as often as you deserve to hear it. But I love you, Paige."

She smiled against the skin of his throat as she responded as he usually did.

"I know."

##############

Walter walked up behind Paige as she leaned on the railing of the back terrace. The moonlight reflected off the water in front of her casting her pale skin in an ethereal glow. They'd just returned to the bungalow, having remained sprawled on the sand for a while after she'd agreed to be his wife. At least until the water of the slowly incoming tide started lapping at his feet. As usual, it made him cringe, so Paige climbed off him and helped him to his feet. He took the ring back from her and slipped it onto her finger where he intended it would stay for the rest of her life.

Once they arrived back in bungalow, Paige immediately walked out to the back terrace while Walter tossed his suit jacket on the sofa and grabbed a bottle of water from the small fridge built into the credenza.

After downing more than half the bottle and then rinsing his sandy feet in the bathroom, he followed her out. When he reached her he rested a hand on her hip and she smiled but didn't turn her head to look at him.

"This is such a beautiful view," she murmured as she continued to look out over the ocean.

"I concur," Walter said but he was only looking at her.

He stepped up behind her and caged her in his arms as rested his hands on the railing beside her elbows. She stood up just as he leaned his head down to press a soft kiss to the nape of her neck.

Paige hummed softly and let her head fall back against his shoulder.

Walter slid his hands, slowly and gently, up her bare arms, letting his fingertips caress her skin softly. His fingers were calloused and rough but his touch, as always, was gentle.

"Walter," Paige sighed his name breathlessly as he nudged her hair out of the way with his nose, his lips continuing to caress her skin as softly as his fingers.

When they reached her shoulders Walter slipped his hands around to the back of her neck and released the clasp of her dress, letting the delicate fabric drop away from her body and pool at her waist.

Walter brought his hands around her body and he cupped both breasts in his palms as he pressed the length of his body against her back. A breathless moan escaped Paige's lips as he took her nipples between this thumbs and index fingers, rolling and tugging them, and Paige felt the sensation all the way down between her thighs. She lifted her hands and covered his, encouraging him to flex his fingers around her soft flesh.

"Please," she moaned breathlessly as she pressed her ass against him, feeling him, once again, hard for her. She loved the effect she had on him and she dropped her hand and reached back and gripped his hip.

"You made me a promise earlier," he murmured against the skin just below her ear as he dropped his hands to her waist. He stepped back a few inches and then pushed her dress over her hips and let it fall and pool at her feet. His fingers dipped into the side of her panties and he pushed them over her hips and down her thighs until they, too, dropped to the floor, leaving her completely naked.

This is why he wanted this bungalow. It stood at the end of the dock, secluded, affording them maximum privacy. No one from any of the other bungalow's terraces could see them and the seclusion it afforded them allowed him to indulge in one of his favorite fantasies… seeing her body bathed in the moonlight.

His fingertips skimmed up the sides of her thighs as his lips caressed over her shoulders and the back of her neck gently. Paige trembled and he smiled against her skin before wrapping one arm around her middle, just beneath her breasts, as the other hand skimmed around her hips and then down her stomach.

Paige moaned long and low and she widened her stance slightly as his fingers dipped between her thighs. She raised both her hands and gripped the railing in front of her with her fingers. Her head fell forward as Walter's fingers speared through her arousal and began teasing her. He flicked his fingertips against her swollen flesh as his tongue swirled over the skin of her neck.

Paige's body trembled and she gently, instinctively, rocked her hips against his hand as his fingers teased her mercilessly.

"Walter," she whimpered breathlessly as she reached down and grasped his wrist, pushing his hand lower. He dipped just the tips of his fingers into her, coating them with more of her arousal, before pulling them back and circling and teasing her aching flesh again.

Paige alternated between pushing against his hand and rolling her hips back into his pelvis as he bucked his hips into her ass, letting her, again, feel how hard she made him.

Walter kissed a warm, wet, path up the column of her throat until he reached the soft skin just below her ear.

"Turn around," he demanded hoarsely.

His fingers dropped away from her and she whimpered at the loss of them but she did as he commanded. He gripped her hips as she turned in his arms and Paige shivered softly under the intensity of his gaze. Her breasts heaved and she caught her breath as his eyes raked over her hungrily, making her entire body tingle. Paige pressed her naked body against his fully clothed one as she reached up and cupped his face in her hands. The diamond that now rested on her left hand seemed to twinkle in the moonlight and Paige tilted her face up and brushed her lips against the cleft in his chin.

"Kiss me," she begged and he captured her lips with his, clutching her to him as he sank into the kiss. The hard tips of her nipples pressed into his chest as Paige's nimble fingers tugged on his tie to loosen it further before breaking their kiss. She laughed breathlessly as he growled his displeasure and she lifted his tie over his head before slipping it over her own, letting the red fabric settle and hang down between her breasts.

Walter stepped back and his eyes raked over her again. A growl bubbled up from his chest once more, something that happened more and more often when he was aroused, and it always left Paige breathless and trembling to hear it. Walter's brown eyes darkened to almost black as Paige felt her body flush with a fresh wave of arousal.

Walter slid his hands down the back of her thighs before bending his knees and lifting her as he captured her lips in another deep kiss. She wrapped her arms and legs around him as she whimpered into his mouth. He kept his eyes open and he turned and strode into the bungalow. He laid her on the mattress and her thighs fell open as he crawled over her. Paige reached up and pulled Walter's lips to hers again before she proceeded to strip him as bare as she was.

When he mounted her, she lifted her hips to meet him as he slipped inside her with one long slow thrust. She wrapped her arms and legs around him, holding his shuddering body as he buried her face in her neck. And, unless she was mistaken, Paige could have sworn she both felt and heard Walter growl the word _mine_ along with his usual incoherent murmurings against her skin.

###############

A long time later, Paige arched her back and rolled her hips in circles beneath him the way she knew drove him wild. She felt every inch of him as Walter plunged into her over and over as he drove her exhausted body closer to another orgasm. Finally the friction became too much and she turned her face and whimpered against his cheek as the pleasure rolled over her in long slow deep waves of ecstasy. Her body pulsed around him and his rhythm halted for a brief second as he hissed against the skin of her throat. Then his hips started moving again, pumping with steady, deep thrusts, as she rode out her orgasm on his invading shaft.

For several minutes longer Walter plunged into her as she whispered his name and her love for him against his ear, encouraging him to find his completion as she clung to him.

Almost without warning Walter's body froze and then shuddered on top of her as he felt his orgasm slam into him. He slid his hands down to her ass and tilted her hips upward as he pushed deeper into her, groaning into her neck as his body seized up.

"Grá mo shaol," he groaned, louder than normal, against her neck and collapsed on her.

Paige panted softly as she kept her arms and legs wrapped around him. Her fingers trailed up and down his back as they both caught their breath and waited for the sweat on their bodies to cool.

"What is it you say?" she asked as she pressed her lips to the tender spot just beneath his ear that always made him tremble.

"Huh?" Walter did just that before he lifted his face out of her neck and rolled off her, pulling her along with him as he slipped from her body. Page settled against him, draping her body across his, and rested her chin on his chest. She brought her hand up to lay beside her face and, once again, admired the ring Walter had designed for her.

Her eyes slid to his. "You always say something against my skin when we make love. It sounds like a foreign language though."

"I don't know what you're talking about," Walter scoffed softly as he tried not to cringe at her word choice. "I can barely think never mind articulate any words at in those moments," he replied in an even tone and if she didn't know him better, and couldn't see the apprehension in his eyes, she might have just believed him.

Paige smiled and pressed a kiss over his heart. "Nice try, 197," she teased gently using the nickname she'd picked up from Toby. Walter hated when Toby called him that but allowed Paige to use it. "You're brain is capable of functioning regardless of what you're doing."

Little did she know how she wrong she was because Walter O'Brien lost all brain functions when he was inside Paige Dineen. She was the one and only person who could get him out of his own head. All thought vanished and the only thing that existed was her and how she felt and smelled and tasted.

Even after all this time Walter still found it difficult to fully understand her effect on him, but he stopped trying to analyze it. She knew her power. Fortunately Paige never abused that power. Well, not often anyway.

"What are you saying?" she asked him again as she fluttered her fingertips over his lips softly.

"It's Gaelic," he finally admitted reluctantly as he nipped the tip of one of her fingers.

"I figured as much," she laughed and flicked him on the nose before she combed her fingers through his short hair, scratching his scalp gently, just the way he liked. "But what are you saying to me in Gaelic?"

Walter looked at her for a moment. Clearly she was not going to be deterred. So he removed her hand from his hair and slowly slipped the ring off her finger and handed it to her. She looked at him curiously as he reached over and turned on the light.

When he looked back at her she could see the hesitancy in his eyes. It bordered on panic and she wondered why he would be so nervous. Just as she was about to ask him he spoke.

"Look inside the band," he encouraged quietly and she did as he suggested to find something carved into the platinum.

"Are those words?" Paige as she squinted her eyes.

"Yes," he replied as the fingertips of his left hand caressed her bare back softly.

"What does it say?" she asked as she looked into his eyes again.

"Grá mo shaol," Walter said and Paige gasped softly as she recognized the words. He'd been mumbling them against her neck every time they made love almost since the very first time.

"What does it mean?"

"Love of my life," he replied as he took the ring from her and slipped it back onto her ring finger again.

Tears sprung in Paige's eyes as his dark eyes met hers and, like always, the truth of his words were there.

"Toby once called Happy the love of his life," he said quietly. "At that point in my life I was too emotionally stunted to accept the existence of those kinds to feelings or that kind of connection to someone. Not even to you because I was terrified of what you made me feel back then. But you've changed me, Paige. Your presence in my life changed absolutely everything. And _now_ I understand. Because that is who you have become to me."

And it was just that simple. For both of them.

Paige Dineen was the love of Walter O'Brien's life.

He didn't have to tell her because they both knew it. And, despite his still very much stunted emotional quotient, he showed her in a hundred little ways everyday of their lives.

She didn't question it.

She simply reveled in it.

Unable to speak over the tears clogging her throat, Paige just lifted her hand to his cheek and guided his lips to hers. She kissed him softly and he clutched her closer, almost desperately, as she melted against him.

And it wasn't until hours later when Paige collapsed on his chest, gasping and trembling on top of him as his large body shuddered beneath her that she pressed her lips to his ear and whispered the words back to him.

* * *

One more chapter to go but it won't be posted until sometime next week now because hubby and I are going to Vegas for the weekend.

Thanks again for reading and reviewing.


	4. Chapter 4

Disclaimer: I still don't own anything Scorpion but I sure could have a lot of fun with them if I did.

Well here it is – the final chapter to _Gauguin_. I'll have another short author's note at the end.

Thanks in advance, as always, to everyone for reading and reviewing and following. It makes my heart happy.

Enjoy!

* * *

 ** _Gauguin – Chapter 4_**

Paige ascended the ladder onto the terrace as water sluiced down her body and formed a puddle on the bamboo. She reached for the towel she'd hung over the back of the lounge chair and ran it over her bikini clad body as the early morning sun beat down on her.

She tried to convince Walter to join her for a swim but, as expected, he declined. Sports of any kind had never been his thing but he knew the benefits of exercise on both the body and brain. While he was not one for regular exercise Cabe had taught him to fight when he was a teenager. And the heavy bag the agent pulled out of storage when Ralph was being bullied, when he was ten, Paige was surprised to learn was Walters. But unlike Toby, who intentionally used it to train for a boxing match, Walter used it for the neurobiological effects on his brain.

Paige had always wondered how Walter, despite his distaste for physical activity of any sort, had such a toned and fit body. He wasn't excessively muscular, by any means, and to someone who only saw him in his clothes, he didn't seem built. But Paige had touched him enough, even before they started dating, to know there was more under those button-down shirts.

When she asked him why he owned a heavy bag, Walter explained the process of neurogenesis, which was the brain's ability to adapt and grow new cells. Exercise, particularly cardiovascular exercise like boxing, not only benefited the heart, it pumped more oxygen to the brain, thus allowing the brain to regenerate cells. It was something Walter could do inside and only a few times a month and still benefit from not only the neurological but the physical results.

Paige, although not particularly athletic herself, enjoyed swimming immensely. She'd been on her high school swim team, what felt like almost a lifetime ago, and she still enjoyed it. In fact, an average of two nights a week, when Ralph and Walter worked on experiments together, Paige took the opportunity to go back to her condo and use the rooftop community pool. It was one of the reasons she held onto it rather than sell it like Walter had suggested to her many times.

As Paige squeezed the excess water out of her long hair she walked back into their bungalow to find Walter sitting on the sofa typing away on his laptop.

"Hey," she said to catch his attention. He immediately slammed his laptop closed and looked up at her, wide eyed, as he squeaked out, "Hi."

She chuckled in response. "Got your hand caught in the cookie jar, huh?"

"Huh?" Confusion filled his eyes. "I don't know what that means."

Affection bloomed in her chest. He had come such a long way in understanding idioms despite his analytical brain's tendency to translate everything literally. But sometimes, even now, the confusion he exhibited at common phrases that he should know at his age still amused her. And it was just one more thing that made her love him.

"It means you are caught doing something that you shouldn't be," she replied with a smile as she approached him. "You kind of reminded me of Ralph just then. Were you watching porn, Walter O'Brien?" she teased knowing it was the last thing he would have been doing.

"Please," he scoffed as he set his laptop on the sofa beside him. "Like I need to watch porn when I have you."

She arched her brow at him as she stopped beside the small glass coffee table in front of him.

"Um," he said as he realized almost instantly what he said. "That didn't come out exactly as intended."

"Ya think?" Paige laughed as she dropped her wet towel onto the glass table.

He shrugged and looked as contrite as he was capable of. "It was meant to be a compliment but-"

"It got lost in translation," she offered as he sat forward and she reached down and slid her fingers gently through his hair over his right ear. He loved it when she did that.

"Ye…yeah," he stuttered as he shuddered, his automatic reaction when she touched just that spot. "Story of my life."

Paige laughed again as she sat down on the towel, across from him, and tucked her knees between his. "You know that idiom but not the cookie jar one?"

"I dislike sweets," he replied as his fingers instinctively reached out and caressed her knee. He didn't even realize he'd done it until her hand covered his and squeezed gently.

"You should have come, swimming, with me. The water is like bath water."

Paige reached up and ran her fingers through her wet hair, to loosen the strands, and her ring caught his eye.

"No thank you," he replied as he watched her smile again. He didn't feel any differently toward her this morning since she'd agreed to marry him. But, if he was honest, he did enjoy the sight of the ring he and Ralph designed for her on her finger. And he knew it made her happy. It meant something to her, and the rest of the world, so that was good enough for him.

"So why did you slam your laptop closed like that?" she asked curiously.

His eyes whipped to hers and she could see the debate swirling in them.

"I, uh, promised you no work this weekend," he replied carefully.

"Walter, I hardly expected you to sit in here twiddling your thumbs when I went swimming."

He seemed to visibly relax. "I know but I gave you my word. This is meant to be a romantic weekend away and-"

"And this has been the most romantic thing anyone has ever done for me," Paige interrupted and gushed as she leaned forward and kissed him softly.

"Is that the truth?" he asked and she could hear the uncertainty in his voice.

"Yes," she cupped his face in her hands and scooted her butt to the edge of the coffee table. She felt his fingers gently grip and press into the flesh of her thighs as she kissed him again, this time deeper and longer.

"Walter," she said as she pulled back and watched his eyes flutter open and look at her intensely. "You are like no man I have ever known." Walter rolled his eyes in agreement and she laughed softly. "I know exactly what you mean when you say 'no work,' and I fully expected you to find a way to squeeze it in, somehow, just like I know you spent the entire flight working."

"How do you know that? You were asleep."

"Because I know you," she replied with a soft caress to his cheek. "And I know, unless it's a dire emergency, I always take priority over work and that's all I need to know."

And it was the truth. While intellectual pursuits once ruled Walter's life, they had been the most important thing besides trying to find a cure for Megan's illness; he found something, or someone, who was more important. He'd told Paige, last night, her presence in his life had changed absolutely everything and it was the unqualified truth. He would never survive without intellectual stimulation but he would never survive without her either.

Despite her intellectual inferiority, she was one of the smartest _normals_ , he'd ever come across, and she managed to stimulate him both intellectually and physically. No other woman had ever been able to do that and never would.

Paige sat back and dropped her hands from his face. "So it's our last day, what's on the agenda?"

"Huh?" he said as the feel of her touch faded.

"I asked what the plan was for today?" she asked, knowing exactly the effect she had on him.

"Oh," he said as he released her thighs and sat back. He glanced down briefly and noticed the imprint of his fingers on her skin as the blood rushed to the surface. He hadn't realized he was gripping her that hard. "I, uh, didn't have anything specific planned. I figured you might want to just relax a little." He reached up and scratched the back of his head. "The resort has a spa that I thought you might want to visit. All you have to do it call Aisake and he'll make the arrangements."

"Mmmm," Paige hummed softly. "A massage sounds incredible actually."

"You should call him then," he encouraged as his eyes dipped down to her breasts encased in her bikini top. She noticed immediately, long used to his obsession with her breasts but, rather than once again call attention to what they both knew, she replied, "They might have a couples massage if you want to join me."

Walter's face scrunched up and she laughed because she'd already known what his reaction was going to be to her suggestion. He still didn't like being touched, in general, but especially, skin on skin, by anyone but her.

"Uh, that would be a no."

"I figured as much. You can finish whatever you were working on while I do that then," Paige said as she stood up and motioned to his long forgotten laptop.

He looked at it and then up at her. "What I have to do won't take me long. I should be done by the time you are."

She nodded her head and walked over to the phone on the desk. After setting a time for a massage she turned around and expected to find him working away on his computer again. But he was just watching her.

"Okay, I have three hours to kill. And I'm starving, how about we get dressed and go get some breakfast," Paige suggested as she put her hands on her hips.

He nodded. "That sounds good."

"Let me just grab a quick shower," she said as she looked pointedly at him in his boxers and t-shirt. "You should too. You could join me if you like," she suggested again, as her lips curved into a sultry smile, this time offering him something she was pretty sure he would agree to. Although it was rare, they did enjoy shared showers from time to time.

His eyes darkened and he stood up. "The, uh, resort has a traditional Polynesian show with a seafood buffet that I thought you might like tonight."

"That sounds like fun," she said chuckling, as he segued into a completely different topic, and she grabbed his hand and led him toward the bathroom.

"You know, historically, you and me and attempts at shower sex have not ended well," he murmured as he followed, referring to the one time not long after they started dating. She had invited him to shower with her and although at first he didn't understand why, he quickly understood her intentions when she wrapped her hand around a certain part of his body and walked backward into the bathroom.

But what had been a valiant attempt at shower sex ended up with the both of them in the emergency room, him with a sprained wrist and broken digitus mi'nimus ma'nus, or pinky finger, and her with a mild concussion.

"Who said anything about sex? I'm hungry, Walter, for food," she emphasized as she turned on the water. "And you've gotten a lot of sex, already, this weekend."

"Is there a maximum amount I'm allowed?" he asked as she removed her bikini and he slipped his boxers down his legs before lifting his t-shirt over his head.

"Well you know what they say about marriage," she teased as she stepped into the large glass and stone enclosure.

"What do they say?" he asked as he followed her in, stepping up behind her and resting his hands on her hips as the water poured down over them from the rain shower heads above.

Paige grabbed her bottle of body wash and her mesh poof sponge. "When a woman gets a ring on her finger the sex stops."

She turned around and started lathering it over his chest as he frowned at her.

"Uh, maybe we should rethink this whole marriage thing," he said, only half kidding, and she laughed and leaned forward to kiss his neck.

"Too late. You're stuck with me now," she murmured against his skin.

He gripped her hips and pulled her closer as his body shuddered softly at her touch. "You're being facetious about the sex thing, right?"

As her hand slid down and wrapped around him, her lips brushed over his the cleft in his chin. "What do you think?"

He groaned softly as her hand slowly stroked him, causing him to thicken and lengthen in her palm as his body shuddered. To distract himself, he took the sponge out of her other hand and started running it over her body.

"We should call Ralph and tell him the news," she said with a soft sigh as he ran the sponge over her shoulder gently.

Walter's hands stilled and he blanched slightly. "Are you really bringing up your son while you have your hand wrapped around my-"

Her laugh interrupted him. "Stop being such a prude, Walter."

But she felt him start to soften in her palm and she looked down then back up into his eyes.

"I can't help it if that ruins the mood for me," he scowled and she pushed up onto her toes and kissed him.

"Okay, we'll put off talking about this until we're out of the shower," she murmured against his lips. "But I do want to call him."

She stepped back and continued to stroke him, gently urging him to respond again. She knew his body as well as he knew hers and there were a handful of times, over the years, he had difficulty getting or maintaining an erection when he couldn't get out of his own head during their foreplay. Once he was inside her, nothing distracted him but sometimes it took her a while to get him there.

"He knows I was planning to ask you this weekend," Walter said as he reached over and added more body wash to the sponge before running it over her breasts.

"But he doesn't know I said yes," she said as she let her lips brush over her collarbone.

"He was quite certain of your response as was I," Walter said as his thumbs deliberately brushed over her nipples causing her to tremble and her hand to falter. He grinned but then his brow furrowed as he remembered the previous night, "Although you did catch me a bit off guard with your initial response."

Paige looked down again because he wasn't getting hard, despite her touch. She sighed and tugged on him, causing him to grunt softly, as she looked back up him.

"I thought you wanted to stop talking about this right now. And for the record, there is no way I would have ever said no to you, Walter. I just wanted to understand why."

"Did I respond to your query adequately?" he asked and in the absence of the topic of Ralph his body began to react to her ministrations once again.

"Yes," she murmured as her lips curved triumphantly and her fingers tightened around him.

"Go…good," he stuttered and now his hand faltered as he slowly swirled the sponge over her stomach and hips. "One of us is bound to crack our heads open on those stones if we try to have sex in this shower," he said and she could hear the regret in his voice.

She sighed and released him again, much to both of their chagrin, and reached up with both hands, sliding her fingers into his hair as she tilted his head back into the stream of water falling from above.

"I know," she agreed, her voice registering the same regret. "If I wasn't so hungry I'd suggest trying out that huge tub over there. It seems like a waste not to use it."

"I haven't taken a bath since I was a child," he scoffed lightly. "There is no way I'm getting in that thing with you."

"You don't think I can persuade you?" she asked as she filled her hands with shampoo and then began lathering his hair.

He loved the feeling of her fingers against his scalp and he wrapped his arms around her, pulling her closer.

"Down," she commanded gently and he did as he was told, tilting his head forward so she could massage his scalp.

"You could persuade me the world was flat if you used the right kinds of persuasive techniques, I imagine," he said as a smirk curved his lips. "But you will still never get me into a bathtub."

She laughed as she tilted his head back again so he could rinse. "We shall see."

She took the sponge from him and he reached up to assist in the removal of the shampoo from his hair. Paige stepped under one of the other shower heads and finished washing herself and then tilted her own head back into the stream of water.

She opened her eyes and found his shampoo covered fingers hovering in the air waiting to wash her hair.

"Have you ever washed a woman's hair before?" she asked with an arched brow.

"You're the only woman I have ever showered with so you tell me," he replied genuinely.

"Are you sure you want to do this? It's very different than washing short hair," she warned as she eyed his hands warily. Her hair was long and tended to be snarly so washing it was a tricky thing.

"I think I can figure it out," he replied drolly and she shrugged and stepped closer to him.

"Wash away then," she encouraged as she wrapped her arms loosely around his waist loving the intimacy they were sharing. It was these kinds of moments with Walter, when he let his guard down and showed her the loving and romantic side of himself, which he would still deny having, that reaffirmed her love for him.

And he didn't disappoint her. He was gentle and thorough and careful as he washed and assisted rinsing her hair. Then she showed him how to apply conditioner and, in his usual Walter way, he asked why they didn't make shampoo and conditioner combined to save a step.

Paige laughed long and low. "They do make it, Walter," she replied as she finished rinsing before he turned off the water. "But your hair never gets properly cleaned that way because the conditioner seals it before you can rinse."

"Seems completely inefficient to have to do two steps when you can do one," he muttered as he handed her a towel and then grabbed one for himself.

"It's a good thing you have short hair then," she chuckled as she stepped out of the glass enclosure and onto the soft rug in front.

"I bet I could formulate one that would work," he said absently as his mind went into overdrive as he pondered a formulation that could work.

"I'm sure you could," she said indulgently as she wrapped the towel around her body. "But you have more important endeavors to occupy your mind."

"Finding a way to make things easier for you is important enough to warrant my attention."

Walter wrapped his towel around his waist as he walked toward the sink and grabbed his toothbrush. Paige stepped up behind him and wrapped her arms around his waist as she placed a soft kiss in the center of his back.

"I love you for saying that but the world needs the focus of your mind more than my hair does."

Walter looked at her in the mirror and nodded his head. "Okay. But if you change your mind let me know."

"Will do. Now I'm going to call my son. Hurry up and finish so I can brush my teeth too. I want to go to breakfast." She slapped him gently on the ass as she turned and walked out of the bathroom.

Walter's eyes followed her and he stood still and silent as he strained to listen to her conversation with Ralph. When he heard her just leaving him a voicemail, Walter's body relaxed and he proceeded to brush his teeth, knowing she'd be back quickly and push him out of the way if he wasn't done.

################

Paige slipped her hand into the crook of Walter's arm as they walked back down the dock to their bungalow. The cream chiffon dress she wore swished around her thighs as a soft tropical breeze blew around them.

They'd enjoyed the Polynesian show and seafood buffet or, at least, she had. Walter had been antsy all evening and she could tell he really didn't want to be there, but as he so often did, he indulged her.

"I'm sorry you didn't enjoy the show, Walter," she said softly as her fingers caressed his forearm just beneath his rolled up sleeve. He was dressed more casually than the night before, wearing his suit pants and a button down but had forgone his suit jacket and tie.

"Why do you think I didn't enjoy myself?" he asked as he looked over at her.

"Because I know you." She said those words to him a lot but they were the truth. She did know him better than anyone. "You wanted to be anywhere else," she finished as she slid her hand down and entwined their fingers.

"That's not true," he replied as his brow furrowed. "I don't want to be anywhere except with you tonight."

"That's not what I meant," she said as she kissed his shoulder. "I just meant that show wasn't quite your taste."

"It actually had its merits," he replied and she laughed softly.

"You're just saying that because most of the female dancers were topless."

"As I said, merits," he smirked and she smacked his arm gently as she clucked her tongue. He squeezed her hand and brought it to his lips before he continued. "Historically, nudity was traditionally a part of most Tahitian dancing, of its very culture, in fact. Why do you think in so many of Gauguin's paintings the women were topless or nude?"

He looked over at her and she was watching him raptly as he led her down the last half of the winding dock. "But once missionaries invaded the islands and insinuated themselves into the culture, it became more taboo. It was considered immodest and was forbidden. It wasn't until the 1950's that it found its place, again, among Polynesian customs."

"I can just imagine what it was like living here at that time, before the missionaries came, I mean."

"Decadent, I imagine," Walter replied as he slid his other hand into his pocket.

"It must have been fabulous. You would have been in heaven," she teased with a laugh, and he narrowed his eyes at her, which only caused her to laugh harder.

"As I was saying," he continued, ignoring her teasing, "The dance that was performed at the show tonight was the tāmūrē. It's one of the most famous Tahitian dances, although it is typically denied by the local purists, and is known to have replaced the 'upa'upa, which was outlawed by the missionaries in 1797. The dance traditionally includes groups of male and female pairs who dance, more or less, in sexually oriented movements."

"That they did," Paige agreed with a grin. "I felt like we were watching a sex show."

"The missionaries felt that the Tahitians should spend their time on more pious occupations, so even when other dances were allowed, the 'upa'upa remained forbidden. But, of course, as is human nature, it was performed in secret."

"Now that must have been decadent," Paige purred against his ear. The soft vibration shot straight through his body. She always knew exactly what to say or do to distract him and she smiled against him before kissing his ear softly.

"In the…in the mid 1800's," Walter stuttered before clearing his throat. "It… it was again allowed, only on public feast days, but without the indecent gestures. Only after tourism took off in the mid 1960's did the sexual elements of it return."

They reached the steps leading up to their bungalow and stopped. Paige looked around to make sure they were alone and then she slid her arms around his waist and pressed her body against his. His hands gripped her hips and held her against him.

"Thank you for that history lesson, Walter," she said as she kissed his chin. He obviously knew they were alone too because he didn't stiffen or flinch. "And thank you, for this weekend," she whispered as she nibbled gently along his jaw. "It has truly been one of the best weekends of my life."

"It's not over yet," he murmured as she tilted her head back and he brushed his lips along the column of her throat.

"Very true," she sighed breathlessly before she gripped his face gently between her hands and pulled it away from her neck so she could look into his eyes. "Now how about we go inside and perform our own private 'upa'upa."

Her suggestion did cause Walter to stiffen, in more ways than one, and a low groan rumbled in the back of his throat. He lowered his face to kiss her but she just pulled away with a sultry smile.

He pursed his lips as she tugged him up the steps to the doors. He started to fidget as he opened the door and stepped back so she could step inside the bungalow ahead of him. As soon as she crossed the threshold Paige could tell something was different. The room was dark but there were Chinese lanterns strewn across the bamboo beams in the ceiling. She gently kicked off her shoes, next to the door, as she looked around curiously.

"Walter, what is this?" she asked as she looked at him. His eyes were watching her intently in that way they did when he was trying to gauge her reaction.

"Why don't you go see," he said as he felt his palms beginning to sweat. That only happened when he thought about the fact that Drew had once put his hands on her and when he was truly nervous about her reaction.

She stepped deeper into the room and then gasped softly as she looked through the French doors leading to the terrace. As if in a trance she walked through the doors and took in the scene in front of her.

The railing was covered with small candles that lined the length of it. More Chinese lanterns hung suspended from the posts at the corners to the roof of the bungalow. Several tropical floral arrangements sat in the center of the two tables that made up the terrace furniture. And to the far right, Paige saw a man who was clearly of Tahitian descent standing unassumingly in front of an archway of hibiscus. Paige, immediately, knew he was a priest and her mouth dropped open in surprise as she watched Walter walk toward him and then turn to look at her.

She stepped closer to him, his eyes full of astonishment. "Walter?" she barely breathed his name as her eyes scanned his face.

"I know I didn't consult you when planning this weekend but it seemed like the most efficient thing to do was plan for all eventualities. We've never discussed marriage before last night and I don't know what kind of wedding you would want, and maybe eloping isn't it, but you have always seemed like a woman who would like simple and romantic. I hope I haven't gotten it wrong."

His face was full of uncertainty and her heart throbbed in her chest as she looked at him. "Walter, this is beautiful."

She could see the relief flood his eyes then and she stepped closer reaching for his hand.

He hoped his sweaty palm didn't gross her out but she entwined their fingers and he sighed and closed his eyes briefly before he spoke again.

"Traditional Tahitian weddings involve flowers and dancing and headdresses, but there was no way that was happening." Walter couldn't hide his disgust and Paige chuckled softly. "Maohinui," Walter said as he motioned to the man standing a few feet away, "is a Tahitian priest but marriages are civil ceremonies here. Normally a visit to city hall is required but I went there today while you were at your spa appointment and got all the paperwork. All you have to do is sign the license and he can marry us and the license can be filed in the morning before we leave."

"Walter," Paige said his name again and he stopped and waited for her to speak. "I'll marry you anytime and anywhere," she said honestly, "But I want my son with us when we get married. And our family too."

Her eyes implored him to understand. He squeezed her hand and his eyes slid to the right before returning to meet her gaze. "They are." She tilted her head and his lips curved upward. "Turn around, love," he said softly, using the endearment he'd decided the night before fit her perfectly.

Confusion swirled in her eyes but she did as he suggested and she gasped for the second time that night. Just inside the French doors stood Ralph, Sylvester, Toby, Happy and Cabe.

Their family.

They were all grinning at her like loons but all she could see was her son. She could see the happiness in his eyes and she felt a sob clawing its way up her throat as she said his name.

"How," she choked out and looked back at Walter who was watching her with concern in his eyes now. She blinked back the tears that were sudden and unexpected.

"The plane went back to get them," Walter replied. "I thought it would make you happy to have them here. Why are you crying?"

She threw her arms around him and buried her face against his neck. "I'm so incredibly happy right now."

"Then why are you crying?" he asked again as his arms came up around her. "I don't understand."

He looked helplessly at Ralph and the others who were all chuckling.

Paige pulled back and Walter released her. She laughed breathlessly as she reached up and wiped the moisture beneath her eyes. Then she reached up and cupped his face in her hands like she'd done earlier.

"You know, for a man who claims to not have a romantic bone in his body, this weekend is the epitome of romantic."

"Yeah, well don't get used to it," he said with a shrug and she laughed out loud and threw her arms around him again. "Does this mean you'll marry me here, tonight, or do you want to plan something more traditional?" he asked even as he braced himself for her possible answer.

"I can't imagine a more perfect wedding."

"Yes, hand it over," Happy's voice came from behind them and Paige stepped away from Walter and turned around as the mechanic continued. "You owe me five hundred bucks."

She was holding her hand out to Toby who was scowling but only partially. It didn't meet his eyes.

"You bet on whether I'd agree to this?" Paige asked incredulously as the group walked out onto the terrace and toward them.

Happy shrugged unrepentantly. "Toby believed you're just girly enough to want something big and flashy but I knew. The fact that we might have discussed something like this over tequila shots a few years ago was not cheating at all."

"Hey, wait a minute," Toby said as he pulled the money back. "That's completely cheating so the bet is off."

"Will you two stop bickering? You're going to ruin Walter and Paige's wedding," Sylvester scolded the couple beside him and their antics caused Paige to chuckle.

"Oh pipe down, you thought she'd want something more traditional too," Toby accused before Cabe interrupted.

"Both of you pipe down already. I swear to god you're like children."

Paige ignored them as she reached for her son and pulled him into a hug.

"I'm so happy you're here, sweetheart," she murmured and then let him go. "I can't believe the two of you lied to me about your trip to your dad's. Did he know about this too?"

Ralph shook his head. "No. I just told him I needed to come a few days late because we had a surprise for you."

"When did you get here?" she asked as she slid her arm around Walter's waist. He reciprocated and squeezed her hip gently.

"Late last night," Cabe replied as he stepped up to them. He put his hand gently on her shoulder. "Congratulations, sweetheart."

"You were here all day?" she looked back and forth between the three men surrounding her.

"Yeah," Ralph replied as he rocked back and forth on his feet. "I went with Walter to get the marriage license while you were getting your massage."

"Wait a minute," Paige said as she eyed Walter suspiciously. "Is that what you were doing on your computer this morning?"

"Ralph and I might have been IMing back and forth while you were swimming," Walter admitted with an unashamed shrug.

"And we all decorated the bungalow while you and Walter were at dinner," Sylvester added as he walked up smiling.

"How did you keep this a secret Sly?" Paige asked as she laughed happily.

"No one told me until after you left," he replied with an exaggerated sigh. "I knew Walter was going to ask you to marry him but I didn't know he was planning to bring us all here for this. I'm the weakest link," he admitted and everyone murmured their agreement.

"Mr. O'Brien," the priest said politely from behind them. "Would you like to get the ceremony started?"

Walter looked at him and then over at Paige. "I don't know. Do we?" he asked her and the earnest look in his eyes made her fall in love with him all over again. He'd done that to her twice, already, this weekend and she had feeling it wasn't going to be the last.

She nodded her head as her lips curved into a soft smile. "Yes. But I don't have a ring for you. Do you even want to wear one?" she asked curiously.

Walter was the kind of man who wouldn't wear a wedding ring, not because he wasn't committed to her or that he didn't want anyone to know he was married, but his views on the symbolism of marriage were just what they were. He didn't see the need for talismans and tokens, like jewelry, so Paige braced herself for what she thought his answer was going to be.

Ralph pulled a box out of the pocket of his shorts and handed it to Walter.

"We designed a wedding band to match your diamond," he said as he flipped the top of the box open. Inside were nestled two wedding bands. "It has the same Claddagh design carved into it but it's encrusted with the diamond remnants from your engagement ring. For me, I had simple, platinum, one with just the Claddagh design carved into it.

"But do you want to wear a wedding band," she asked him again.

"For you I will," he answered simply but before Paige could say anything else, Toby clapped his hands together.

"Come on let's get this show on the road. I'm not getting any younger over here."

Walter rolled his eyes but he reached for Paige's hand as Ralph, Cabe and Sylvester stepped back near Toby and Happy. He expected his palms to be sweating again but to his surprise they weren't. The priest had both Walter and Paige sign the license and then he signed it before he tucked it into his pocket.

The ceremony was short and simple. There were no religious aspects to it. Just a few words and when it was time for Walter to say his vows he didn't stutter like he feared he would. The people present were their family. They knew how he felt about Paige and although he kept his displays of actual affection for her mostly private, he wasn't uncomfortable showing it in front of them. So he just ignored the priest's presence as he swallowed before speaking.

"I don't know what wedding vows are supposed to include although I suspect people expect them to be sappy and full of frivolous sentiment."

"Oh god, he's going to totally blow this," Toby muttered under his breath and Paige glared at him as Happy elbowed him in the side to and told him to shut the hell up. Walter ignored him and continued when Paige's eyes met his again.

"I'm not that man, Paige," Walter said honestly and he felt her squeeze his fingers, encouraging him to continue. "But as I told you last night I _am_ a man who loves you and even though I rarely say it, I feel it every second of every day. You've given me everything I never knew I even wanted until you came into my life. You gave me your love and you gave me a son." Walter's eyes slid to Ralph where he stood a few feet behind Paige. The teen met his eyes and nodded his agreement silently and when Walter's eyes returned to Paige's he could see tears welling in them again. "You are _grá mo shaol_ , Paige, and you always will be."

"What did he just say?" Sylvester whispered and Walter rolled his eyes as someone slapped him.

"I think it's Gaelic for ball and chain," Toby whispered back and then another slap was heard and Paige couldn't hold back the watery laugh that escaped.

"Did I actually say I wanted them all here?" she asked jokingly, too happy to be upset because they were just being exactly who they were. And she loved all of them exactly as they were.

Walter shook his head, exasperated, but as long as Paige wasn't upset he refrained from scolding either of them. Ignoring them all once again, Walter slipped the wedding band on Paige's finger.

Everyone waited for him to say more but he remained silent until the priest leaned toward him.

"You need to state your intention with the ring."

"I thought I already did," Walter replied confused.

"Most people say something like 'with this ring I thee wed,'" the priest replied encouragingly.

"I'm not saying something like that. It sounds ludicrous," Walter scoffed and simultaneous groans came from the group standing nearby.

"You have to state your intention to marry Paige with the wedding band otherwise the vows are incomplete," the priest said with his own exasperation.

Walter pursed his lips and looked back at Paige who was smiling softly at him. She knew he'd get it eventually and she was letting him find his way. He rubbed his fingers over the rings on her hand before he took a deep breath.

"This ring symbolizes who you are to me and fulfills my intention to make you my wife." He looked at Paige expectantly as he asked, "Is that sufficient?"

"Yes," she said cutting off the priest who was about to say the opposite. She glared at him daring him to contradict her so he just reluctantly nodded his head.

"You gotta love a woman who can silence a priest," Toby snickered and then jumped to the side before anyone could slap him.

"I swear to God, Toby, I am going to murder you if you say one more word," Walter growled, finally fed up, but Paige just lifted her hand to his face to bring his attention back to her.

"Focus on me," she said softly and he took a deep breath and nodded his head as she dropped her hand back to squeeze his.

The priest told her it was her turn. She inhaled a deep shuddering breath as she smiled.

"Walter, you came into my and Ralph's lives at just the exact time we needed you. You gave us stability, a family, and me a way to understand the child I loved but failed to connect with. I can never thank you enough for that. And although I knew you were uniquely special right from that very first day, if someone had told me I would, one day, fall in love with you I would have told them they were out of their minds."

Soft chuckles came from the onlookers as Walter's lips quirked in response as Paige continued.

"But every day I spent with you, the more I got to know and understand you, too, I lost more and more of my heart to you until all of it was yours. You have been more of a father to my son than his biological one and that's nothing against Drew, it's just a fact. I know you often doubt your abilities when it comes to emotions and love but the way you love me leaves me breathless every day of our lives. I love you, Walter O'Brien. You are _grá mo shaol,"_ she repeated his words as she stepped closer to him. "And you always will be."

Walter never took his eyes off her the entire time she spoke and the intensity of his stare made her shiver. She took the platinum band from Ralph and slid it onto Walter's ring finger and, once again, repeated his words.

"This ring symbolizes who you are to me and fulfills my intention to make you my husband."

The priest said a few more words and then told Walter he could kiss his bride. The kiss was chaste and brief because Paige didn't want to overwhelm him in front of the others but when she tried to pull away he clutched her closer and took her lips again, this time deeper and longer.

Toby and Cabe whistled and hooted as Happy scolded them. "Now who needs to grow up?"

"That kiss is lasting an awful long time," Sylvester said as Ralph snorted.

"They kiss like that all the time in the loft."

Paige gasped for air when their lips finally parted.

"Wow," she breathed as her eyes fluttered open.

Walter stepped back and cleared his throat surprised at how he'd lost control like that. But the pleased look on Paige's flushed face made him realize he didn't care.

################

A couple of hours later everyone was still on the terrace, most of them drinking champagne, except Walter and Ralph. Soft music wafted through the French doors as Toby and Happy danced quietly in one corner and Cabe, Ralph and Sylvester sat around one of the tables.

Paige had stepped into the bungalow to use the bathroom and Walter was leaning against the railing waiting for her return as he listened with amusement to Ralph and Sly try to explain the theory of relativity to Cabe.

After Paige had regaled them with the general details of Walter's proposal, she fortunately decided to keep some of it just between them, everyone took turns toasting them. While Toby's was long and elaborate and sarcastic, it was also subtly sweet because, as he pointed out, he was the very first Waige shipper there was.

"What the hell does Waige mean?" Cabe asked and everyone groaned as the behaviorist began a long, drawn out explanation of combining a couple's name into one as a means to refer to them.

But by the time he got to the end of his toast, the sincere side of Toby's personality had come to the surface as he professed his love and admiration for both of them.

Happy stopped him before he could embarrass himself completely, blaming it on the champagne, before she offered her own toast. It was brief and brisk but heartfelt, for Happy anyway.

Cabe's was moving and it drove Paige to hug him as he told them both that he viewed them like they were his own children and he couldn't be happier that they found each other.

Sylvester's overactive emotional quotient came out, but he included Megan in his toast, telling them both that she told him before she died that she knew they were destined for each other. Walter tried not to sigh at the concept of destiny but it slipped out before he could stop it. Paige pinched his side and told him to respect his sister's opinion even if it differed from his own. When he started to argue with her, she just arched her brow at him and he shut up, wondering if that was how it was going to be from now on.

Finally Ralph gave his toast.

He looked at Paige, first, but then his eyes met Walter's. "I'm not really sure what to say in a toast so I'm just going to say thank you, Walter, for loving my mom."

Paige smiled at him and she felt Walter's hand squeeze hers under the table. "And thank you for showing me how to show her too," Ralph continued quietly. "She was right when she said you have been more of a father to me than Drew, so thank you for that too. After my dad left, I never thought I'd trust another man with her but I trust you completely. I know you will love and protect her forever and that's all I'll ever ask of you."

Walter nodded his head in agreement and silent understanding between father and son.

Ralph's eyes then slid to his mom's and his face took on the look of awe he often, unknowingly, gave her. "Mom, I always knew you loved me even when I didn't really understand what it was. I tried to show you what was inside me and the more you struggled with me the more I loved you because you refused to give up on me. And the more I struggled to show you,"

Ralph looked around at the others before he looked back at Paige, "But when we met Walter and you went to work for Scorpion I knew we would be okay. I knew they would help you understand me and help me understand you. I wasn't surprised when you and Walter started dating. I was happy. I knew you would make each other happy if you could just get through to him like you did with me. And I never doubted it would happen, even when Walter started that ridiculous speed dating nonsense."

Toby groaned at the reminder of the disaster that was Walter's speed dating experience. Walter also groaned, only quieter, and Paige chuckled as she nuzzled her nose against his cheek.

"We've been a family for a long time but now it is official. Not that any of us needed it to be, but now I never have to worry about you being alone because Walter loves you as much as I do. And I know I don't tell you a lot but I do love you, mom. More than anyone."

Paige hurled herself out of her chair and toward her son as a sob tore from her throat. She wrapped him in a fierce hug as he stumbled under her momentum, but since he was almost taller than she was, now, he was able to compensate and keep them both standing.

Paige told him everyday how much she loved him but Ralph had only said it to her a handful of times in his life. And every time he did it was the greatest gift she could ever ask for.

"Oh, boy, there go the waterworks," Toby said but his tone betrayed his teasing. He was as moved as they all were by the young genius's words.

"Aw, come on mom, don't cry," Ralph murmured as he wrapped his arms around her and sighed.

Walter looked on, also sighing. He would never understand the way women cried when they were happy. But that didn't mean he, too, wasn't moved by the young boy's words to his mother. He and Ralph loved the currently sobbing woman just the same. Well _not exactly the same_ , but she was the most important person in both their worlds and that, even more than their intellect, would always bind them.

Paige stepped out of the bungalow and walked back over to Walter. She pressed against his side and he kissed her temple softly as his arm slipped around her waist.

"This is all I need," she said quietly as she looked at him. "Everything I want is right on this terrace."

"Me too, love," Walter replied and Paige smiled, also liking the sound of the endearment.

"You've taken to calling me that quite easily," she murmured and he shrugged.

"It's easier to say than I thought it would be."

She reached down and grasped his hand in hers. "Dance with me," she said, her eyes twinkling as she tugged him away from the railing.

Walter pursed his lips and he made a sound in the back of his throat that gave away his aversion for the idea.

"Oh, come on," she snorted indelicately. "I know you hate to dance but you need to dance with your wife at your wedding."

He took her in his arms and sighed as she pressed her soft body against him. He actually loved to dance with her but he knew if he let her know she'd make him do it all the time. And holding her in his arms and dancing with her always had the same effect on him and he doubted their family wanted to see that.

The soft music wafting through the door was just loud enough for him to count the beats and keep time but it was her lips against his ear, humming the tune along with it that kept him in the rhythm.

They didn't speak, they didn't need to, and Walter just enjoyed holding her close. He lost track of the time but the sound of someone clearing his throat behind them invaded their moment.

"Can I cut in and dance with the missus?" Toby asked as Walter turned to look at him.

"No," Walter replied and turned back to Paige. She laughed as Toby scoffed.

"Now that was just rude. You get her forever, the least you can do is share her for a few minutes at your wedding."

"I don't have to share her with anyone," Walter replied bluntly. "In fact I think it might be time for all of you to go."

Toby grinned like a Cheshire cat. "And why is that Mr. O'Brien?"

"Because it's my wedding night. Do I need to say more, Toby?"

"And that's the kid's cue to leave," Ralph said with a horrified look on his face.

Cabe laughed as he stood up. "I think the kid is right. It's time to leave the newlyweds alone. We'll see you in the morning."

"We should meet at the restaurant for breakfast before we head to the airport," Paige said as she stepped out of Walter's arms and the others agreed.

She walked to Ralph and again pulled her son into her arms. "I love you sweetheart."

"Yep," he replied as he pulled away. "Night mom."

She smiled and caressed his cheek. "Night, baby."

The others said their good nights and then departed.

"Was that completely rude of me?" Walter asked her once the door was closed.

"A little," she smiled, "But I was ready for them to leave too."

"Is that so?" he murmured as he grasped her hips and pulled her toward him.

"Mmhmm," she murmured back as he lowered his lips to her throat and inhaled deeply, letting the soft, familiar and well loved scent of her surround him.

Paige wrapped her arms around him and pressed her lips to his ear. "I love you, Walter."

"I know," he said against the hollow of her throat and she trembled at the feel of his lips and warm breath caressing her skin.

"I have the best idea," she said as a sultry smile curved her lips and she nipped his earlobe gently.

He grunted lowly as he pressed his pelvis against her.

"Are you willing to indulge me?" she moaned softly as she felt her body soften and ready for him.

"Anything you want." His words were nothing more than a low growl.

She smiled and pushed away from him before taking his hand and leading him toward the bathroom.

And when Walter found himself chest deep in a bathtub for the first time since he was six, with his new wife astride him, riding him slowly as the moonlight shone through the window, bathing her in muted light, he began to re-evaluate his opinion on baths.

The End….. for now.

* * *

 **Author's Note:** Now I know many of you are thinking… wait a minute… you left some very important questions unanswered. Well you're right. This story was originally a one shot that turned into a bit of a 4 chapter beast. But it was originally meant to be the first of three one shots. The questions that were not answered here weren't meant to be because they weren't part of this part of the story. I'll be back in a bit with the second one-shot, which will truly be a one shot this time.

But I have a couple of Ferret Bueller Chronicles one-shots to finish and then Undercover, which is turning into a multi-chapter fic, much to my chagrin, but the characters just take me where they take me sometimes. I also have a long overdue chapter of Breathe Again I have to finish.

Anyway… the point is… there is more to this story and I will be back with it.

Thanks again to everyone who is reading and especially those who take the time to review. This fandom is a bit different than I'm used to. It seems like a lot of people are reading but not many people review. I don't write for the reviews but they sure are nice to get… at least I know people are enjoying it. And if someone is not… well it's always good to get constructive criticism. Thanks for reading nonetheless.

Until next time…


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